Lucille's

PIECED TOGETHER.......

           Well it’s been 3 weeks since I started this blog thing. So far so good. Over 1800 views and viewers from Venezuela, South Africa, Poland and the UK. as well as the US and Canada.

 I am gripped!

            I'm uncomfortable with the word ‘blog’ though. It really is quite an ugly word….somehow a bit too close to ‘smog’ and ‘blob’ and ‘clog’ and ‘slob’, none of which conjure up the warm fuzzies I was hoping to invoke. It would be far lovelier if it was called a heartsong or a mindblossom or a brainsparkle or something else equally poetic.

            Sometimes I fear that one day I will have nothing to write about and then my brain starts igniting a thousand little firecrackers of thought that take me in new and strange places and then my fear is that I will never have enough days to put it all into words.

             It interests me that we have our own unique way of expression. Some go quietly about life letting their kind actions speak for them, well others talk about what they are going to do and somehow never get to it.

              Some express themselves by slamming a tennis ball, or kneading dough or emoting through Chopin at the piano.

              Many present a smiley face to the world and then go home and cry themselves to sleep. What is it that makes us think we have to maintain a certain public persona instead of being real with the emotions we are feeling?

               Often we do not use the unique gifts of speech and dialogue at our disposal. So often a misunderstanding arises from a misperceived motive, or a tone of inflection reminiscent of an unpleasant encounter from the past. We are wounded people often unwilling or unable to move on to wholeness and healing, hanging on and nursing and rehearsing old hurts and reacting to them long after the sting is gone, giving them the power to bind and strangle us from embracing new life. So often we feel alone, as if we are the only ones who have experienced hard things. We feel entitled to our cynicism and wear our shoulder chips proudly.

               When we have the courage to share our hurts with another, we are often surprised that they respond in kind and perhaps reveal similar or even harder events from their past. It is why community is so important. The sharing of sadnesses and joys unite us as fellow sojourners in this world. We are not alone.

               My experience has been that my sad, hard, hurting times have provided the most fertile ground for growth. They have rooted me in reality and given me opportunities to test my mettle but more importantly my faith. Sitting on the sidelines, eating bonbons and counting my money does not do that. It sounds inviting but the shallowness would slay me.

               I want to be that person that can walk along side you when you are needy because I have been there too…….been there and left there because of hope and a faithful God who has carried me more times than I would have wished. I have been to the depths but I have risen to the heights and my soul must sing.

                I think life should be described as a big patchwork quilt ..…its pieces all different, and in contrasting hues, the light and the dark. Early in life, they are just a pile of scraps, but over time and through the living out, they assemble themselves into some sort of meaningful pattern.

                Each of our quilts is unique and has the potential to be beautiful but only if we allow all the squares to be sewn together. If we decide to focus on only the darker squares we will have a very dull quilt….our covering as a person will not be attractive. We need the balance…..The brights will shine brighter when contrasted with the darks….don’t resent them. The bold prints will complement the tiny ones.

               The lesson:

                Live the life you have been given…not uninvolved or fearful, helpless or resigned but using your God-given abilities, talents, the help of others to make your way.

                Know that just as surely as the clouds roll in today, the sun will burst forth when you least expect it.

                Accept the hard truth that the myth about life being a bowl of cherries is just that…….a myth.  But when you do get that bowl of cherries from time to time, relish every single bite.

                Life is rich. When you get to the end I hope you will have made an awesome pattern!