Page 10 - Q2-2020 Farm to Fashion Magazine

Freak
I cried this morning on the way to work. Seriously. Tears, sticky and slick, running down my cheeks. I was crying about a candle. And, because things were just too hard today. I am a mom of four kids ages 12 through 16, two dogs, (both adopted rescue dogs), a cat named Samantha, and a guinea pig named Oreo.
Don’t get me wrong, my life is beautiful, but some days everything is just a lot. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed with the full-time job, kids, husband, commute, groceries, doctor’s appointments, vet appointments, church, community stuff, and trying valiantly to see my family and friends. And I think that’s what happened today.
When I start my day, I light a candle while I enjoy my coffee and have some quiet time. It soothes me and smells nice, and I move on with my day to get ready to tackle it all.
By the time I touched base with the kids about their days, wrangled the pets, packed my lunch, packed my laptop, got in the car, dropped off my son at school, and got on the road for
My life is beautiful, but some
days everything is just a lot.
my 50 minute commute... it suddenly occurred to me that I forgot to blow out my candle. I froze. I panicked. My mind raced instantly to our house going up in flames while the pets perished inside.
Suddenly the tears were coming, and I was crying in my car. The candle had tipped me over the edge. As I started to lose it, a little voice in the back of my head said “Stop freaking out Alicia, and just take action in any way you can.” So I took a
fire, and I had, in fact, already blown out the candle. All of my panicking was for nothing.
Today was a good reminder that
we are actually not alone in this life. Heather’s willingness to go over to my house to blow out a candle, because I was freaking out, made me realize just how special it is to have others around us as we go through life.
Today, I felt like my day could not continue until I
confirmed that my house wasn’t going
to burn down. We all have days
where we simply cannot move on
deep breath, paused, and thought... My next-door neighbor, Heather, popped into my head, and I asked Siri to send a text to Heather.
We all have days where we simply cannot move on with our day until we have help from another person.
I prayed she was home, and
she was! I explained to Heather my candle concern, and she agreed to go check on things at my house. With
the simplicity of a text, and about
3 minutes of wait time, I was able
to calm my nerves and everything suddenly seemed easier to handle. She assured me that my house was not on
with our day until we have help from another
person. The beauty of this is that we all need help, and none of us are alone. We just need to be willing to break out of our shells and be with those around us.
Written by Alicia Shutes
Seeds of
Picture in your mind a packet of seeds. They’re in there altogether, snug, warm and like to make noise when you shake the packet. Shake... shake... shake... can you hear them? Listen closely. These are very unique seeds. They are having
a conversation with each other. Listen to what they say:
Seeds:
“I don’t want to go in the dirt. I’ll get dirty. I don’t want to be dirty.” “I hear you have water when you’re on the outside.” What’s water?”; “What will happen if we’re not in here?”
“I like the way I am.”; “I like it in here. It’s dark and safe.” “All my friends are here. I want to stay with my friends.”
But Big Sprout thought differently, he said, “Hey guys, don’t you want to grow?”
Seeds: “Grow? Get bigger and stronger you mean?
Big Sprout: “Yes, growth! But you will have to change in order to grow. If you change, you can sprout to grow in
to being fruitful!”
Big Sprout: “This is our chance, the farmer is coming to help us sprout and grow.” Let’s go!”
The seeds decided it was okay to change and tumbled out into the planter and embrace their new life in the field to grow and prosper.
Growth means change. Even though you are safe and warm where you are, one needs to change in order to grow. Remember, a simple change can produce big results.
Inspired by Rev Bob Stover
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