Dear Reader:

Lately on the local weather reports…I have heard the term “unsettled” ad nauseum. I feel like yelling back at the television “Enough of this unsettled weather….Get settled… and bring the sun back while you are at it!”

When I walked out on the cold, damp, misty deck yesterday I thought that this poor chair summed up my mood. I, too, am feeling “unsettled“…like the  bottom is falling out of my customary happy daily routines…suddenly they seem to be unraveling …leaving a hole or void where I have always felt support.

Different activities that usually get me in a creative or happy place just aren’t quite doing it for me…books aren’t holding my interest enough to finish them, I can’t think of anything I want bad enough in the food category to bother making or especially going to the dreaded grocery store for…I can’t find anything on television that I am excited about watching….I reckon I am just back in the annual January “blahs” funk.

Too much cold, wet weather, and inside time are the obvious culprits…aren’t they? Or are they?

I had several God Winks yesterday morning directing my “blah mood” into a different perspective on my “unsettled” condition.

The first came from a friend’s quote that she posted on Facebook: (Barbara Barfield May…thanks girl…needed to hear this)

“It’s funny cause we ask God to change our situation not knowing He put us in that situation to change us.”

It has taken me a lifetime to realize that if we are looking for security, comfort, constancy….we sure aren’t going to find it here on earth. Once we get past that abrupt truth…and give up the fairy tale endings…we finally begin to grow into ourselves.

The second Wink came in the form of a quote I found:

Emerson said it best:

“People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.”

If our interpretation of security is sameness…  then we are in for a disappointing and bumpy journey through life.. because that definition of security prevents us from considering new possibilities. Emerson believed that some “conflict was necessary in every life to encourage continued growth.“

My third Wink came from an excerpt from Anne Lamotte in the book Stitches.

Most of us can identify quite closely with spiritual writer, Anne Lamotte, and her lament over this same Emerson quote.

“I hate this idea more than I can capture in words < being unsettled> but insofar as I have any idea of the “the truth,” I believe this to be as true as gravity and grace.”

With age on my side now…hindsight has become more revealing and insightful. (My foresight is still limited.) And my hindsight tells me that it was only when I was forced into a corner and pushed into  “change” that new possibilities entered my life that improved it.

For example: It took several “head honchos” at CSU to convince me that I should and could return to school to get my Masters degree…even as a single mom  with two children in college and a third to go. That Masters degree opened up a whole new world of possibilities to me that would never have come to fruition without it.

I realize now that God pushes us out of our little corners of comfort to help us climb the next hill towards our destiny. It is never punitive… He does it out of pure love…unconditional love and grace.

When I saw this “metaphorical” little story….I knew it was a perfect ending to today’s thoughts … So until tomorrow:

Even after all this time the sun never says to earth

“You owe me” 

“And look what happens with a love like that…

It lights the whole sky.”

…………

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* How can I stay too “blah” with my beautiful amaryllis in full bloom?

*…And I didn’t have to cook yesterday or go to the grocery store…met Anne for our monthly Oscars (eat anything you want) rendevouz…I had enough left over for supper and the company had me in “stitches” ….which I needed.

 I found a little prayer that I would like to share with everyone…especially going out to our (Junior) Ya friend Betsy, who is waiting on two more test results, and my wonderful friend, Linda, who is having tests this Friday. Both women are stuck in the health “waiting game”(as Dr. Seuss calls this period of life)… and it is a hard place to be. To Betsy and Linda…

“You Will Get Your Smile Back”

When you’re feeling off-balanced or puzzled

by the detours life puts in your way, trust that

things will eventually get easier. Your hurts will

melt into lessons learned. There will be peace

and possibilities, and you will feel better again.

********

The twinkle will come back to your eyes. There

will be a skip in your step and a big sun

in your sky. The melody will play again to the

song in your heart. Eventually hope will replace

discouragement. There will be answers to your

questions and resolutions to your conflicts.

*****************

Your smile will come back and things will get

better. Just remember…those who care for you

are standing with you, praying for you, and

believing that there will be a favorable outcome

for all you’re going through.

-Donna Fargo-

* Jo Dufford shared a personal story about the connection between the “peace” rose and a memory she has of her mother. Thank you Jo for taking time to respond with this wonderful memory!

Boy! you always stir something good within me with your blog. Today it was memories of Mother’s “green finger”, as everything she planted grew into something beautiful. The story of the peace rose is so inspiring and brings memories of Mother’s peace rose bush, which was always laden with the largest most gorgeous roses, and that, my friend, brings such “peace” and joy to my soul today. Thanks!