Happy Easter

This is my favorite week of the year--a week of reflection before my favorite holiday [Easter].

Recently, I started reading “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” as part of the Mom’s group I attend [yes, even though I’m not a mom]. The book has been informative yet dry for me. I have found it somewhat boring and I have not really appreciated it. Until today. I realized that a few weeks ago, I was receiving messages that would carry me through some upcoming difficult times. And then those times hit.

I was created a people-pleaser. I was groomed to “do good” and be the best I can be while doing it. I love helping others. I give 150% at work and in play. I do things for the right reasons even though I sometimes make mistakes. The best lesson my daddy (remember I’m Southern and we proudly say “daddy”) taught me is: Never look at WHAT someone did, look at WHY they did it. You can imagine how hard it hit when my character was attacked recently. It’s happened in a few significant situations over the past month and a half. It’s hard when not everyone has that simple nugget of wisdom that my daddy instilled in me at a young age. I felt violated, betrayed, bewildered and physically unsafe. In turn, the anger became overwhelming. The verse that I keep reciting to myself is Exodus 14:14: The Lord will fight for you - you need only to be still.

One night when sitting on my bed partying [pity partying, that is], entrenched in quite a few “head shaking” and “expletives shouting” moments [Sorry, cover your ears/eyes God], it hit me. I ran to get my “Emotionally Healthy” book and instinctively, I knew exactly where to turn. I re-read the chapter on where Jesus was questioned. In doing right, he disappointed so many.

He disappointed family members.

He disappointed friends.

He disappointed the disciples.

He disappointed [and regularly rebuked and pissed off] the religious leaders.

So...I’m in good company.

The timeliness of my “situations”make this week even more reverent as I reflect upon the meaning of this week and Good Friday.

When I think of Good Friday and the crucifixion, the following words come to mind:

suffering. unjust. undeserved. cruel. dark. punishment. tears. loneliness. pain. sadness. horror. ridicule. betrayal. separated. broken.

It had to happen to complete the unfolding story. It would become a part of so many others’ stories.

Within recent situations, I felt those same words on a personal level.

And then, I’m reminded. Beyond their limited perspective, on the horizon, would be: resurrection. The following words come to mind:

celebration. hope. light. justice. goodness. redemption. healing. joy. warmth. reconciliation. strength. vision. grace.

Within other recent situations, I have also felt these words on a personal level.

So on this Easter, bask in your pain. It has to happen to complete YOUR unfolding story. It’s also a part of someone else’s. Feel it, every part of it. Decide how to use it. Who needs to hear your story? Share it, ALL of it, uncensored. Know that in the near future, a resurrection is coming. There will be celebration. Joy will be abundant. Redemption will come.

Happy Easter with love,

Danielle

Merriest Christmas!

Before signing off for 2011 and heading home to Mississippi, I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

This is my favorite time of the year!

I love the holidays in that they remind us of how we should live daily and provides opportunities to spend more time with friends and family. While Christmas is a joyous time as many of us celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is also a reminder of the brevity of life. While we celebrate His birth, we all know the rest of the story. While many of us celebrate the joy in the season, others mourn. This could be the first holiday without a loved one, a reminder of a desire for family for many orphans and foster children across the globe, and bittersweet opportunities to make memories for sick loved ones.

If you know me I live life as if there’s no tomorrow because frankly, we aren’t promised it—I drink my special wine with special friends in lieu of “saving it,” I give items away, and I am constantly seizing the moments that others may save for a future date. Some have looked appalled when I say “I may be dead this time next year.” Okay, not the best wording for some but evidence that I’m living life to the fullest. For those that know me (and not even that well), you know I focus on the details more than the big picture. For me, love lies in the details and when it comes together the big picture is beautiful, even if messy in the process. With the ever-increasing chaos of the American Christmas, I’ve been trying to focus on the small blessings and details in life that make the days special.

Here are a few that have come to mind:

• Enjoying laughter with girlfriends over for one of my home-cooked meals
• Long hot bubble baths with a gossip magazine
• Saying things because you mean them, not worrying about what others think or social expectancies
• Snuggling with my babies at work especially when the one I call “Roo” wants to just hold hands (with interlocking fingers, the best kind)
• Impromptu lunch/dinner dates
• Drinking coffee and blogging with nowhere to be
• Turning on the faucet whenever I need/want while knowing many friends around the world don’t have clean water to sustain health and daily activities
• Sleeping in
• An unexpected smile or comment from a stranger
• Good wine and moments wine tasting
• Getting air mail from my sponsored child in Malawi--is she as excited to get mail and packages from me as I am from her?

I’ll leave you with a few faces that make this season all the more joyous.

Remember to keep a mental count of the little things all year round and give, give, give!

All the best for this holiday season and looking forward to 2012,

Danielle

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. –James 4:14