I hugged my bestie from childhood the other day; we met for lunch while I was visiting my hometown. It wasn't a church hug (the soft tap we use to acknowledge someone's presence); it was warm and intentional. We sat in that hug for what felt like an eternity; over forty years of history existed in that embrace.
I felt my shoulders drop, and my eyes welled up a little. She loves me, and I felt that. I thought about primary school, eating soft graham crackers, drinking milk from cartons, laying on stiff, brightly colored vinyl mats for afternoon naps, and sitting criss-cross applesauce during story time. I thought about lining up for recess, school assemblies, talking about boys, books, music -- all the important things at that age. She holds a part of me that is innocent and unaffected by the skepticism life often brings as we age.
Over lunch, we shared a little. We both have experienced good and not-so-good times, but I found our deep-rooted faith as Southern women most encouraging. My grandmother once told me the mightiest of trees would bend and bow beneath the weight of the greatest winds, but even if it snapped, the roots would still be there.
We are still here.
Resiliency is not something you can buy or fabricate; it's not on the shelf at the local market, nor can it be sold as a digital course. Resiliency, my friends, is learned. It's forged in the toughest of times, often riddled with great uncertainty and, in our case, taught. We've seen what women in our families have done, what women like us always do, and we press forward.
We must.
But I love that in our faith walk, we're embracing softness, peace, grace, boundaries, and forgiveness—all the important things at this age.
What I know for sure is that God is in the restoration business. Anything broken, stolen, systematically dismantled, redlined, marginalized, slighted, misunderstood, taken for granted, overlooked, lied about, or mistreated is in due season. And we know there's a time for sowing and a time for reaping -- we learned that (1 Peter 5:10).
We’ve earned it.
I saw a quote recently that read, "There's a garden I must tend to, and it is my own."
It resonated deeply with me—it stirred something I've allowed to go dormant recently. Hope.
I've got a garden out back that I've started and stopped over the years; it's yielded very little because, quite honestly, I've invested very little time and effort. And year after year, I'm disappointed in myself and in the lack of results due to that. It makes no sense, I know. But what a powerful metaphor for life.
Because I'm embracing peace, grace, boundaries, and forgiveness, I've got to extend more of that to myself. I deserve it. Now I can be more intentional about my garden—I'm making the time—just like you can now be more intentional about what happens in your life. See what I did there?
I am fully equipped to do so; I now have the time, the means, and the desire. You're fully equipped to do the same. He wants that for us. Tend to your garden, dear heart. It’s time. Better days are coming.
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X,
Cece
What I’m Reading
I’ve explored several new authors over the past couple of months. I read a couple of spicy novels/novelettes — learning that it’s really not my cup of tea. Yes …it took a couple of books to figure that out. Alas. I’m also reading closed door romance books, I think that’s more my speed, leaving a little something to the imagination works better for me. But hey, if you like it spicy, do you! No judgement. LOL!
I updated my GoodReads so if you’re there, jump over and join me. It’ll be nice to see what you’re reading as well. And while you’re there, like my author page.
What I’m Writing
I got writer’s block working on my short story but I’m back. I took a few days off, walked along the beach and ate good food while I was home and am inspired again. More to follow! Here’s one of my morning inspirations. After this, I pretty much ran to my laptop to write a few hundred words. Ah, there’s no place like home. Nothing like getting back to yourself.