I must admit I was quite upset when last Friday we received a letter in the mail from the Butler County Weed Department saying that if we didn’t treat the weed lespedeza in our pasture in seven days that we’d be fined $100 a day up to a total of $1500. Now, that made me mad for two reasons. First, the time frame to arrange for and administer the herbicide was impossibly short, especially considering that we received the certified letter on Saturday. Second, I was insulted because we had already been investigating how to best treat the invasive weed that had exploded in our pastures this year.
My ornery Rascal is sitting between two lespedeza plants I found in the pasture.
Once I recovered from my temper tantrum, I realized that the weed department had done us a favor. We were able to quickly fill in our limited knowledge of treating the weed and make arrangements for treatment. Where we had been piddling and slow about taking care of a problem, we now took decisive action. I am grateful for that threatening letter.
Have you ever been spurred into addressing a problem because someone gave you a strong warning? How did the issue get resolved?
I could choose to remain angry that we’d been called out about a problem we should have addressed the first of the summer when we realized the small patch of lespedeza was spreading rapidly. Instead, I choose to be grateful the problem is being addressed. I experienced less stress and more joy this way.
How do friendships develop? Sometimes it is working together, having children on the same sports team, or a chance meeting at an event. Think about your most prized friendships. How did they start?
A year ago, I knew Ann’s first name. Nothing more. Today I consider her a good enough friend to let her apply the adjective “ditzy” to us. Ditzy is not a description most people would apply to me. I tend toward serious, responsible—not frivolous. But Ann’s description applied when she took this picture.
Kansas Authors Club State Convention 2019 Hook’em and Book’em
Our friendship developed over the past year as we worked on a convention committee together. Seeing problems the same way was part of it. Having the same ambitions for the committee’s work was another part. But for me, the biggest part was honesty and integrity. What Ann said she was going to do, she did. Not marginally, but did well—above and beyond what I imagined. Now that is a person I want to have on my friend list because that friend, just by being who she is, challenges me to be better than I presently am. In Proverbs 27:17, it says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” So true.
But our relationship was not all work and no play. We have fun together. This picture is from the convention which culminated our working relationship. The celebration was on. We let the ditzy part of our personalities out—at least for a few minutes.
How do you define true friendship? Here is my definition.
True Friendship: Iron sharpening iron with a little ditsy fun sprinkled in.
Have you ever been walking down the street when something caught your eye? Something beautiful. Something unexpected. Something that made you smile.
Yesterday, I was walking to the parking lot from Hubbard Welcome Center at Butler County Community College. Large meticulously groomed planters stood in front of the building. Mild-fall weather means they contain mature plants in their prime. Beautiful.
Like I too often do, I walked down the sidewalk deep in thought not noticing the beauty of the plants to my left. Then a gust of wind ruffled the leaves. I glanced at the lush sweet potato vines—lime green, dark green, and reddish-purple leaves. Delightful.
Then I saw them. Gorgeous pink trumpet-like flowers. Impossible, I thought. But on closer inspection, I confirmed those flowers came from buds on the sweet potato vines. I smiled. Who knew that these wonderful vines produced such beautiful fall flowers?
I wonder what other things I walk past while I am preoccupied with thinking about the next item on my to-do list. Could I be missing a smile? Is there a possibility I might have experienced the joy of performing a kind deed for someone? Maybe I could slow down long enough to hold a door for a mom struggling to maneuver a stroller through it.
How much richer would my life be if I practiced being more observant?
What joys am I missing because I am too busy?
What are some simple joys you experienced this week?
I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. Ecclesiastes 3:12
Joy and grief are opposites for most people. But for me they go hand in hand.
Mom has left us to live in paradise.
My mother passed away last Monday. It left a huge hole in my heart.
Mom lived with my husband and me for the past nineteen months because it was no longer safe for her to live by herself in the farmhouse where I grew up. Mom was becoming frailer due to back pain and other health problems. However, her mind was good and she insisted on living life to its fullest—sometimes much to our chagrin.
The last two weeks have been tough, but God has blessed us in so many ways—excellent medical care, expressions of love from friends and relatives, and my out-of-state nieces and their children were able to see mom four days before she passed. Even though my grief is often expressed through tears running down my cheeks at odd moments when memories emerge, the joy is just as strong for these reasons.
No long-term suffering: Mom, in no uncertain terms, told my brother and me that she did not want to lie around in bed for months before she died. (I do not know why she thought we could control her medical condition!) Mom had her first attack as we were driving to a restaurant where my brother was meeting us after Sunday morning services. Eight days later she died peacefully with my brother and me at her side.
Mother’s positive influence in this world: Mother touched many people in both secular and church settings. She loved helping young people gain skills that would contribute to them becoming productive adults. Her greatest joy was when a child came to saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Expressions of love: I have been overwhelmed by the many cards, messages, texts, and calls. I knew I had an amazing mother, but to have others tell me how she affected their lives produced a gratifying joy.
Heaven is home: Mother is singing praises to God with my daddy, my brother, and my nephew.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
