Weary, rainy day...

"How are you doing?" my friend asked me.

"...weary...", I said.  "I am doing pretty well at not taking it out on my kids - not being overly angry with them or constantly frustrated. But, inside, I just feel worn out."

It is a sleepy day today... with the rain coming down outside in cold November sheets. And though I know that the Lord sends it to refresh the parched plants in the ground- especially the ones newly moved and not given the luxury of a deep drink...


I do not feel refreshed.   

I feel worn.

And yet, is He not here today to give me  rain for my soul,

just as He cares for those dried out roots?

The plants need to prepare for the long winter ahead.

They will need the moisture that the rain brings today because soon the ground will be so hard, so frozen that they will not be able to drink.  Kind of like when summer sun dries everything to dust, there is a parched time also in the winter, with it's desiccating winds.

And if I do not drink today, when He gives it, how will I survive... or even enjoy... the next test that comes along the way?

"For every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights..."

James 1:17

To "blog" or not to "blog"

This is a new beginning for me... one that I have wondered at for a while... wondered if I had "what it takes"... or even the desire... to write and put myself out for all to see... is it even worthwhile?  Would anyone care?

And in wondering this and gaining momentum and then promptly dismissing it, today I was confronted with thoughts and vision from ann about what it means to write and attempt to speak into the void of the internet... and that it usually is more of a step of faith to speak into the void that is in us first.

I still do not know... am still tentative.

But maybe I will try... even just a little.

But not anymore today...

Bloom 2010

Tulips Shirley and Cum Laude, Forget-me-nots, variegated yellow loose-strife, phlox sublagata and Heuchra 'Purple Palace'

Photos from this growing season at Gilmore Gardens... complete list in Photostream on Flickr

Borrowed letter from a mom past her season...

Here is a letter sent to Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience that really encourages me in my mothering:

All of my chicks have left the nest. They are rearing and nurturing their own.

It’s funny that all of the messy piles of unfolded laundry and the mail and important papers that lined the counter, the things I longed to have put in order when they were here --- are still here.

But, they and their sounds and their smells, the fragrance of their presence has gone. Drifted into the memories I hold and cherish.

I do not live in the past but I would love to have one more day when I hear their laughter and their conversation drift down the stairs and the aroma of their shampoo from their bath and the clamour of books and items being prepared for school.

Just the joy of their daily lives intertwined with mine and their activities shared with me hourly. It all escaped too suddenly.

There were many days I wished for just a little quiet. Now the quiet is sometimes way too loud.

So, a little revelation from one who has been where you are, in the middle of domestic chaos:

Enjoy every inch of the mess and those responsible for it, appreciate the unfolded laundry and the scattered papers, books, and shoes, smile at the dirty dishes and tracked floors.


They are all a real sign of real life going on around you. Life to be loved and lived and devoured one minute at a time.

If only there were a way to lasso the days and slow them down and hold on to each moment and each child. If only!


Your friend in Christ,

Anna Margaret in Louisiana