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I dragged our garbage bin to the roadway in front of our home the other evening and as I turned to go back inside, something caught my eye. Something small, yet obviously out of place. I bent down to get a closer look and saw a tiny shrub growing out of a crack in the asphalt. Its bright green hue was in stark contrast to the drab grey of the street. I looked closer to see where this little thing could have taken root but all I could see was the hardness of the road around it.

Yet here it stood, growing in its own time, and somehow finding what it needed in order to keep going. Making the best of the hard place in which it stood.

Continue reading “Growth in Hard Places”

Last night we waited for a storm that never came.
We went to bed with the words “any moment now” on our minds.
“Any moment now” the rain will start.
“Any moment now” the wind will howl.
“Any moment now” the thunder will roll.

A few hours later it rained heavily – albeit for a few minutes – but that was it.

We awoke to mostly clear skies and the dawn of a new, peaceful day.

Continue reading “Waiting for the Storm”

My husband has a few “home pants” that he only wears around the house. You know… the kind that are made from soft, comfortable material and seem to survive years beyond their intended lifespan.
 
The other day, I noticed that the drawstring from the waistband of one of the pants had come out, leaving the waistband loose and saggy. “I’ll restring your pants for you a little later” I offered, silently adding the quick task to my mental to-do list.

Continue reading “What if it was easy?”

I was chatting with my husband and mentioned to him that a cousin of mine who lives abroad posted a video to her social media of her walking toward her front door. As she recorded herself approaching her home, we could see her little toddler on the other side of the door, smiling and greeting her with excitement. 

A cute moment captured, for sure, but that wasn’t the point of my story.

Continue reading “Life Beyond the Bars”

Just before 1pm yesterday, the power went out at our house. My little love came downstairs to say that her teacher had just shared a long note in her virtual class and that she wasn’t able to access it. I promptly sent a message to another parent asking her to send a picture of the note from her daughter’s screen, but I was surprised to learn that she had no electricity either. Within a few minutes, we realised that the power outage had affected the entire island.

Little did we know that we would be without power for almost twelve more hours.

We made the most of the afternoon and evening. We sat outside to take advantage of the gentle breeze that blew, and we enjoyed much more conversation than usual.

When night fell, we still had no indication as to how long it would take for the power to be restored and so we lit our candles and prepared for a long, dark night.

Continue reading “No Light Can Be Hidden”

It happens so slowly I could just bask in it.
It happens so quickly I could easily miss it.

I sit in the silence and stillness holding my cup
and as I wait for it to cool I realise that another, far deeper cup is being filled.
Is being replenished.
Is being restored.

Continue reading “My cup is full”

My littlest love was learning about new year’s resolutions in her online classes. As part of the teaching, she watched a lovely little video about a forest animal exploring a host of resolutions for her and her classmates to consider. After the video was complete, my littlest love was asked to share what her new year’s resolution would be. The prompt from the teacher read “This year I would like to learn/ be better at…” 

When we got to that part of the lesson, I asked my littlest love what her resolution was. Without missing a beat, she replied, “To love myself.” 

I smiled at her response and said, “That’s beautiful! But that’s not what your teacher is asking. What are you going to decide to do this year? What would you like to get better at?” 

“I already told you, mummy!” she replied, visibly exasperated by my prodding. “My resolution is to love myself!” 

I shook my head…she didn’t understand the assignment. 

Continue reading “Understanding the Assignment”

I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but I love to bake. Each Christmas, both my family and my husband’s family make a special request for toffee bark and I gladly oblige. Having this addictive dessert on the table has become somewhat of a Christmas tradition in itself. It is a rich and crisp delight topped with melted chocolate and decorated with a sprinkle of candy of your choice. At a quick glance, the ingredients appear obvious, but when you bite into it, there is a certain something that you can’t quite put your finger on. A slight saltiness. An unexpected crunch. 

Spoiler alert: that little something is saltine crackers. As I said, I am not one for sweet treats, but this one is an absolute delight. 

Continue reading “That Little Something…”

A loved one and I were chatting the other day about the challenges that we have been facing. Our discussion then turned to so many people close to us who have been battling difficulties on a compounding basis. As we spoke of so much grief, heartache and trouble, my loved one shook her head and sighed. “It is as if everyone has been touched”, she lamented.

Continue reading “Tidings of Comfort”

It’s so hard sometimes.
You think that you are making progress, seeing growth and cultivating change,
and then –
then it all just seems to stop.
Where you saw progress, you wonder about purpose.
Where you saw growth, you question the speed.
Where you saw change, you second-guess your resolve.

Continue reading “This is Growth”