Petals of Friendship

  Your story, God’s story The past, present and future…all parts of our story. I am intrigued by history, especially my family’s history. The people, where they lived, the origins of their stories. Knowing my roots and where I came from is not only a part of their stories, but my story. God’s story. While I may not always pay attention, God has been weaving a unique story through the generations of my family. I’ve tried to capture those stories, mostly in small bits and pieces through the memories of my mother and father. The good, the bad, and the ugly parts of it have been shared. No one has a perfect story, and I think we’d rather forget about the bad and the ugly parts, but we have to wonder, why were those unwanted parts written in? We can stay stuck in those past parts, but God offers something better. Throughout the Bible, we find stories filled with the reality of hard things. Highs and lows are scattered throughout the lives of the people yet, in those stories, God shows u...

I don’t like wrinkles. Lucky for me, my clothes dryer has a nice feature on it called wrinkle prevent. Once the original drying cycle is complete and the dryer stops drying, the wrinkle prevent feature kicks on. This feature is intended to prevent wrinkles from settling into the clothing. Within a few moments, the dryer powers up again and tosses the clothing inside around and around with the goal to keep them wrinkle-free. The dryer continues this intermittent process for a very long time.   The magical intent of this feature helps me when I know I won’t have the chance to empty the dryer once the cycle is complete. It’s a feature I use often. However, while this feature is really nice, I’ve noticed that it doesn’t completely deliver on its promise. Some wrinkles still happen. Perhaps not as badly as they could if left sitting in a heap for hours, but still, they are there. I can choose to live with the wrinkles or try to smooth them out. One takes work, the other not so much. It ...

Discovering how God created you leads to living your  purpose and mission with strength. Frustrated or Fulfilled?  That was the question I heard on a radio program years ago, and it caused me to stop and think. At the time, I wondered…which am I and why am I feeling this way? Admittedly, I was both. Frustrated because I knew there was more and oddly, at the same time, content with the status quo. But that little frustration part was bugging me. Why was I frustrated? When I thought about feeling frustrated, it wasn’t in the material sense. Rather, it was a persistent sense of knowing that there was more to life. Could there be more? Was the best yet to come? And yes, of course, Heaven is the ultimate “best to come,” but how do you get to that “more” in the everyday? How do you get to a point of relishing each day instead of just trying to get through it? I am reminded of the lyrics in Steven Curtis Chapman’s song,  More to This Life . In it he sings, “Make the most of your...

  Living a disrupted life Everything has changed. Our lives have certainly been disrupted. And if you really think about it, nothing over time is new. When I think about the many changes and challenges from the beginning of time, I am led to several of the stories in the New Testament where peoples' lives were disrupted by many things, especially as Jesus appeared on the scene.. When Christ showed up, it was a definite disruption to the life and culture of the day. He created a stir and things changed. People tried to figure out who this man was. Many recognized that he was "The Way", but there was so much to learn and sort through. There was mystery and misunderstanding. Did he come to break the rules or give new ones? Jesus crashed into the lives of people who were outcasts, hopeless, and in desperate need. He fought the establishment and made a way for those who needed love, compassion, and grace. Stepping in when the culture was ready to convict those same people, Jes...

Dolores was someone who impacted my heart and yet, I never met her.  I learned about her at her memorial service, where her family gathered and shared loving memories and anecdotes about who she was and how she impacted their lives.  Her children and grandchildren conveyed who she was through stories filled with humor, tears and  tenderness.  Her unique and authentic qualities were a common thread throughout the evening.  Each shared memory drew a clear picture of who Dolores was, and as the stories unfolded I began to get a sense of her spirit and personality. Dolores not only sought joy, but she gave it away, freely.  It was a big part of who she was, and it was a significant trait she shared with her family and friends in abundance.  Her life was built upon it, and she communicated this to her family by telling them they each had a choice in life.  That each day, they had the ability to choose joy .  To her, it would be one o...