I love what they've done with it

 

 

“Same,” she texted back.

 

Such a wonderful use of the word!

Short.

Concise.

Or as concise as I need it to be.

I can always add more words, but in my effort NOT to overshare, same is the perfect word. In my efforts to let the other person talk it all out before I say anything, same is a wonderful way of acknowledging their feelings, telling them I understand a bit about what they are telling me, and they are not alone even though they might feel like they are.

 

Daughter: Ugh. My head. Must be the weather

Me: Same

… and now we can go back to our respective resting/medicating/napping/pushing through

 

Son: Made the bills again this month. Yay.

Me: Same. PTL! LOL!

… and now we know we are both struggling financially, but God is good.

 

In a world full of words and images, same is a respite from the noise.

 

Are you weary of so many words?

 

Same.

 

_RHTM_

 

By the way, I wrote a book. Find it here. Thanks!

Then join us for FMF.

 

 

I have a choice

floragrauso-pixabay

I have a choice

to stay in bed, or to get up

to work or to rest

to write or to read

to move or to be a couch-potato

to visit or not to visit

to believe that God works all things for my good or to believe God is out to get me

to do housework or let it pile up for the next day

to cook supper or get take-out

to mow or let the weeds grow and worry about the consequences later

to speak or keep my mouth shut

 

Most of the choices I make are based on consequences.

I pay my bills because I know what it’s like to get way behind and have things taken away.

I mow the grass because it’s difficult to walk in tall weeds, lots of bugs and sticky seeds, and I like to take long walks.

I keep my home tidy because a messy house gives me the feeling of frustration (and that voice of my mom telling me to clean my room).

I go shopping because I hate running out of the basics.

I do errands because I hate letting things go undone and piling up and causing me anxiety.

 

I read the Bible, pray, and study because if I don’t the darkness moves in, and my peace disappears.

I read books because I like to discuss them with friends.

 

I write because otherwise my brain is jumbled. Writing calms me. Writing is a place I put everything that I want to say but shouldn’t say out loud. Writing organizes my opinions and helps me see, in black and white, what I really think. Writing is like breathing.

Writing is life.

 

_RHTM_

 

Thanks, Kate, for all your encouragement. Five Minute Friday is my happy place!

 

 

 

random cover

 

damesophie - pixabay

Cover me

Take cover

Stealing the covers

Under cover

Covered in medals

Book cover

Under cover of darkness

Covered in clover

 

“For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you.” – Isaiah 60:2

 

“When the word reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, laid aside his robe from him, covered himself with sackcloth and sat on the ashes.” – Jonah 3:6

 

“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8

 

_RHTM_

 

 

Now, put it in reverse.

 

thanks to rporras - pixabay

Dad needed Mom to drive the car with the camper trailer attached. She was unsure about it, but he said she would do fine. My brother and I stood some distance away until the small maneuvering project was finished. The plan was to move on to a new place to camp.

Dad was calling instructions out to Mom who had the window open and seemed to be trying to figure the thing out by herself. My memory of the event is dim. I think my dad wanted her to know how to drive the car with the camper attached “just in case.”

Dad called out to stop. My mom got out of the car and slammed the door shut walking away. Once again I witnessed the all too familiar scene: Mom was upset and angry, Dad was trying to make her feel better and apologizing.

I don’t remember the words, but I remember the black cloud that hung over the family the entire day.

Mom had jack-knifed the car into the trailer because she moved too fast to react. Instead of fixing it she just gave up. Now there was a dent in the camper and, as she said, the trip was completely ruined, and we might as well go home.

Dad did his best to untangle the mess and later, at the new camping location, when it seemed safe to look, I took a peek at the dent. It was pretty small compared to the drama we had witnessed.

As usual, my brother and I played until dark, trying to forget the cloud over our heads, trying to pretend it was just a nice weekend of camping with our family.

My mom didn’t talk for the rest of the day.

This event is burned into my mind and emotions and only until recently have I realized how it effected my own married life.

My husband grew up working on his uncle’s farm and drove everything he was asked to drive, tractor, stick, with and without trailers, automatic, tiny Volkswagen, huge box truck.

I learned to drive two cars before we married, a Chevy Impala and my first car, a Chevy Nova two-door. I was proficient in heavy Phoenix traffic and reading maps, but anything other than a car was terrifying to me.

There was no reason for this since I had never been in an accident while driving.

When it was time for me to drive other vehicles my husband had purchased, I froze. Of course he couldn’t understand why. Doesn’t everyone drive everything?

When I realized my fears were irrational and I needed to learn this thing to help him, I set my mind to learning, taking instruction from my husband, and trusting I wouldn’t accidently hit anything important or hurt myself. It took years, but I finally got comfortable driving vans, trucks, and other things with motors. I even learned to push or tow one vehicle with another.

I am proud of these moments.

They prove God is good and can empower us to overcome irrational fears set in us since childhood.

They also prove there is nothing wrong with going in reverse. Just take your time, understand why you’re doing it, and learn from your mistakes.

 

“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13-14

_RHTM_

Join up with other writers at Five Minute Friday!