Exposed

I was on a run the other day taking in all the sights along the greenway, loving spring and appreciating the beauty of God's creation.  I stopped along the creekside so I could listen to the trickling spring, bask in the sun streaming through the trees and of course catch my breath!  As I stood there, relaxed in nature, I couldn't help but notice the massive roots of many of the trees were exposed and hanging over the banks of the creek.  They almost looked like they were hanging on by a thread and would collapse into the water at anytime...the ground was taken right out from under them, their foundation was gone, and life had eroded around them.  How many times could this represent instances in our lives when the carpet is pulled out from under us, we collapse and life feels like it's eroding around us?   We are exposed, vulnerable and weak.  

The beauty in this sight was that these trees were still thriving.  They were coming alive this spring with buds and new growth.  They didn't want to quit.  Their roots were getting thicker, stronger and longer.  They had a purpose and showed that they were necessary.  I then noticed how the large, strong trees next to these vulnerable ones were supporting their needy neighbors by intertwining their roots among them.  They reached out to keep them growing up and not wanting them to collapse into the creek.  Somehow they knew they needed to throw out a branch or change direction in their roots to support their neighbor.  How many times have you felt a friend reach out like that in your time of need?  How many of you have been the supportive tree and intertwined your life into a friend's to keep them growing up and creating new life? 

My desire is to be like that strong tree supporting those around me who's foundation has been shaken and they seem as though they could easily collapse.  I hope that I'm aware enough to change direction if need be and show my support by intertwining my life.  On the other side of this, I hope that I'm transparent and vulnerable enough to accept help when my roots are exposed. 

Is perfection possible?

I'm learning a lot while molding a blog. I keep thinking of ways to perfect my next post before I push the "Publish Post" button. I will go so far to avoid a mistake and create perfection by putting nothing on the paper, waiting until it is perfected in my head. Therefore, I create nothing, gain nothing and contribute nothing. Who does that serve? I'm only creating madness in my head as I strive for that perfection. I do this with a lot more than blogging. Which, by the way, I'm on day 3 of owning a blog and already have 2 posts. Not too shabby, however, I can only keep this up if I post when I have a thought, experience, idea or struggle even though it is not just as I imagined. Usually, it ends up being better than I imagined, so there's a lesson for me.

This blog will be my practice arena with the whole world to see. I'm pretty confident that I will receive more support than criticism, especially since my husband is the only one that reads this blog right now. Regardless, I will post without perfection, but with contentment as my goal. So I guess the answer to my question is; No, perfection is not possible, but contentment is. I'm not even sure if I structured that sentence correctly with the semi-colin and capitol N...oh, well, I'm content with my post!

Birthday of Born-Awesome blog

I have contemplated starting a blog to track my thoughts and the moments that happen in my life that are worthy of writing down. So many times during a week I think to myself, "Man, I gotta write that down..." Then I think, "I'll remember it..." We'll I don't and I'm tired of forgetting.

There are so many experiences in my life that are blog worthy and I'd like to share them with people I love and also with hopes that it may encourage someone, somewhere. I will not be ashamed, hidden, or scared, so I am going to be open, honest and vulnerable in this blog.

Quickly, about me...in no particular order, except the first line!

Jesus Christ lover. Daughter. Wife. Mike. Mother. Annabelle. Sam. Andrew. Mia.

Empathetic. Goofy. Classic. Comfortable. Laid back. Yellow. Warm chocolate chip cookies. Beach. Breeze. Relaxing. Sweet tooth. Active. Volleyball. Mini-van. Hopes for a hip SUV. Streamline. Compassionate. Courageous. Strong. Brave. Husband calls me a STUD. Laughter. Quiet. Cotton. Coach. Sports. Leader. Born Awesome!