Utterly Transformed

Winged Shadows Gliding 

along the surface of the earth.

Caterpillars inching along

the length of the limb.

Butterfly roaming free, 

reaching great heights.

Caterpillar slowly making progress,  

tiny distances covered.

Once it was a caterpillar, 

that delicately painted butterfly, 

until it went to a 

place of isolation, 

darkness and silence.

It remained still as time ticked away.

Sun up, sun down.

Day after day, 

in quiet stillness it lay.

Then suddenly, it happened..... 

emerging from darkened isolation. 

Itself, yet utterly transformed.

Wings wet, it sits. 

The passing minutes blend together. 

The butterfly opens its wings once, 

twice, three times and.... stillness.

Then in a fraction of a breath,

it makes the expansive blue sky its home.

Up, up, up and away on this venture so fresh.

Free to travel, great miles to roam.

Are you a caterpillar or a butterfly?

 Am I?

Maybe not, but encouragement is to be found.

You may be a leaf eater and long to be a 

beautifully painted glider on a passing current..... 

figuratively speaking, of course!

Alas, the pattern is the same for we human types.

Getting to the place we want to be, can be a slow journey.

The view can be dim and before the desires 

of our hearts can meet us, 

often we must dwell in a place that feels 

dark, lonely and far too quiet.

In those places, we grow, we change and we, much like

the butterfly, once a caterpillar, will one day emerge 

from our dark place into the light as ourselves, 

yet utterly transformed.

If you find yourself in a place

 you would rather not be,

doing tasks you would rather not be doing....

simply be still.

Your day, your moment and all its glorious purpose 

will reveal itself in the proper time. 

Hang around like a caterpillar

and soon you will, like the butterfly.....

Take flight. 

Rubble At Your Feet

Empty Chair

Blank Page

Thoughts come with effort, 

if at all, at this stage..... 

it has everything to do with

circumstance of long standing 

and nothing to do with age.

On the edge of breakthrough,

you feel as if you will break down.

But, stick your hand in your 

pocket and take hold of the mustard seed.

Faith is believing, not in circumstance,

but in God's promises we can choose to heed.

Tired, bummed out and burnt out, 

it's time to hold your peace, 

but almost time to let loose

 with a Jericho shout!

March forward, even though

your eyes are blurry and you

have an ache in your feet. 

This task, with all its layers

and its many players

is finally, at long last,

nearly complete.

Discouragement will try to move in

and obstacles will seem to multiply

before your eyes.

Believe in the things hoped for and 

what onlookers deem impossible.

Time has moved slowly

Now the clock will quicken

at a rapid rate.

All that debri and burden

will soon, no longer be a barrier,

but mere rubble at your feet.

Trippin........

Trippin, Zippin, and Flippin

People, the constant surprise,

People, the ever present source of joy 
and trouble in our lives.

People, completely rise to the occasion.

People, our connection to love and laughter.

So important to take full pleasure 
in every day,

 walking in your purpose 
and running with it all the way.

Don't be deterred
 or wallow in discouragement. 
Take a pause, a deep breath too..... 

Then gather up your courage
 and head toward the dream.

We are all meant for something special ,
so look around and see 
who is and is not on your team.

When we walk through life believing
 in the good things promised 
and the dream in our hearts 
as the reality of our lives,

it changes our focus. 
We stand taller, reach further, 
and feel less and less 
a need to murmur.

Trip, but get up again.

Zip through life arm in arm 
with those
 that believe in and 
share your dreams.

Flip a coin if you must, 
but where it's at is on the side that says 

"In God We Trust."

Hoping Skills

Transition, Forward Motion,

Change, 

Time to Rearrange

It all means that the way it is, 

is not the way it is going to be.

We know the inevitable change sits, 

waiting around the next corner.

There is no surprise that it waits.

The details are obscure, the timing a bit of a blur.

 The inevitability of that certain change

 encompasses a wide and varied range.

It is an emotional exercise of holding in your heart 

what is familiar and what is old, 

while opening it to something new.

The effort to gain 

your footing....your balance 

can, for a time, make you blue.

We often label those times as adventures,

 to hide from ourselves and others

 that it isn't all that much fun.

Little scary, quite intimidating

But when you mix those things

 in with exciting opportunities, 

with possibilities, limited only by 

the height of our courage

 and 

the width of our imagination,

hope grows.

Change can be bad.

Change can be good.

Change is greeting a difference, 

welcomed or unwelcomed.  

Coping skills, in times such as these, are

wrapped up in the Hoping Skills you choose to embrace.

 Hope, it carries

 you through the first 

steps of a new experience.

The hope that sees

 you through each challenge,

whether it be involving new relationships,

a career move, a chance for higher learning,

a dream long dreamed, one you have been yearning for, 

more years than you can imagine, 

finally coming true. 

A fresh place to call home.

A tiny new person arriving 

you can't quite believe 

you get to 

call and love as your own.

The hope that believes

for a better tomorrow

in a day that went

terribly wrong.

The hope that sustains you 

through a dark night to meet the morning,

singing a new song.

The hoping skills are the coping skills

to have at the ready when

life's transitions shift.

Stand firm in whatever place you find yourself;

in a cozy nook or

 a wide, unfamiliar, open space.

If we are willing to accept it, in each local, we will be met and covered by God's loving, unshifting grace.

He Will

Temperatures are hot

Tempers are hot

Shifting Sand

Nothing Solid for which we have to stand.

Hearts filled with fear

Heads filled with hate

It all seems to have gone too far.

The expectations for good to happen 

being significantly below par.

I have mentioned it before and it must be said once again.

Look up, Reach out,

with just a few words

in a whisper, 

or if you like, in a shout.

His goodness, His love, His inclusive nature,

and present help in time of trouble, I must tout.

With God, our Hope, 

our security 

is sure.

This transitional life

that never stays still.

Reach out boldly to God;

He will calm every fear.

He has hung every star

and is always close, forever near.

Ask for the help you require, 

whatever it is, 

enormous or tiny in scope.

He will be there to answer, He will.

He has been and remains in this dramatic hour

    and all the times before.....

Our best and only

HOPE

More Than You Know

Then it Happened

There it Was

It was a Surprise

So much so,

it momentarily turned 

my thoughts to fuzz. 

Everything I believed for

Dreamed of.....

All the things I couldn't do for my self,

bringing the good and eradicating the bad.

All the wonderfulness that brought the 
happy 

and vanquished the sad.

It seemed impossible, truly more unlikely,

as time ticked and the 

calendar

turned months into years.

Some days, it was all I could do 

to brush away the tears.

Then it Happened

There It Was

It was a Surprise

So much so, 

it momentarily turned 

my thoughts to fuzz.

So, it's good to keep in mind,

but definitely more valuable 

to hold in your heart,

that God,

in all His power

and all His love, 

will do what you cannot.

No matter how much effort

or

deep thought you apply

or

earnestly it is sought.

He is capable of the heavy lifting.

You ask why?

Because He is God 

and you are

not!

Your dreams, 

your heart wishes,

your deepest desires and

unspoken plans.

They will surprise you

when you lift them up

and

let them go.

Like rain, when they 

come back down,

they will gently 

touch your cheek

and attached, an 

ethereal note in tow....

"From your heavenly Father to my sweet child,

I love you more than you know." 

It's The Truth, Don't Cha Know

Tears are the current upon which our pain leaves us.

Let them flow....

Let it rip.

 Let them go. 

Drain the pain.

Cleanse your soul.

 Bottling it up takes such an outrageous toll. 

Tears bubble up and overflow. 

They come from the 

deep place

 in each of us,

 that we all know. 

Through blurry eyes, lashes wet, 

we can often see more clearly.

Adjust an attitude or alter a perspective 

that has been long set.

Tears.

Let them flow, sometimes happy, often times sad. 

We float our emotions 

on every drop. 

We can experience sympathy, empathy, anger, joy, and

 profound hurt; 

all catching a ride on a current of tears. 

We can go with them,

 grow with them, 

show people we care with them.

Tears show up at births, 

first days of school,

 last days of work, 

funerals 

and the times we pinch our fingers, stub our toes,

walk into doors and break our nose. 

The moments when we notice 

the diamond ring 

attached to the offered rose.

Life is filled with choices, opportunities, celebrations, milestones,

calamities, tragedies, unrelenting opposing voices. 

We have all experienced some 

and some have experienced 

all of these. 

Tears. 

 Don't shy away or push them down; 

they are meant to be a

 helpful companion

 to get you through life 

emotionally connected. 

Can't escape this life 

without being 

emotionally affected.

 Shutting down, holding feelings at arms length; 

it's a time honored tradition,

 widely thought to put your heart

in a protected position.

It isn't so. 

Engage your feelings, 

let your tears flow 

and it is 

emotional strength 

that will grow.

It's the truth, don't cha know.