Blog – Page 12 – Finding Melodie

June 12, 2015January 29, 2016

Thank You Herbert!

There is a white, fluffy and gregarious poodle in my neighborhood named Herbert.

Yes, Herbert the poodle.

Herbert is the size of a small horse.

Okay well, not really but he is tall for a dog. He is also very friendly. So friendly he might scare the pee out of you if you’re not paying attention and he comes galloping your way.

While walking with my neighbor Tamara one morning earlier in June, we were galloped at by Herbert. Good thing we were paying attention.

Here’s to all the Herbert poodles of the world: Thank you for bringing smiles to our faces. Sometimes it’s just the little things that we need. Little things that can be wrapped up into the exuberance of an energetic dog who makes you remember to be THANKFUL.

THANKFUL for what you have, which means gratitude has a home in your heart.

THANKFUL for what you need, which provides space for your dependence upon someone else, allowing humility and vulnerability to grow in you.

What are the “Herberts” in your life? How are the “little things” shaping your view of the world?

June 10, 2015June 10, 2016

Moving

I feel good. My heart is well. My soul smiles. I am moving.

Moving where? Into the next chapter of my life, and excuse my semi-French, but it’s about dang-on time.

The last 10 months set me up beautifully to enter the next part of my story. My job gave me the chance to take part in a unique leadership development program with 40+ other co-workers. We were challenged to “do life differently” and engage with our stories and our hardships to help us grow more into the men and women God shaped us to be.

Me with my life group leader Alex. She calls me “Mel-Mel.” We’re both Georgia Bulldawgs.

In this community of people from different walks of life, we shared our struggles, our triumphs and how through it all they were bringing us back to Jesus. I came face to face with the grief and mourning of several losses, some that I’d started to grieve two years ago and needed to grieve in new ways and others that I’d hadn’t had the space to grieve yet that came out in full-emotion.

Those 10 months were hard at times. They were relentless in the growth and changes they brought. But I found more of myself in the journey of “doing life differently”:

I found my writing voices – grieving, mourning, living, laughter, theology and culture.

I found my defined dreams and anchors for my hopes – career, relationships and writing projects.

I found my beauty – in the woman I became and the excitement for the woman who’s to come.

Phoebe, Ali, Katie and me with our coach Dayle at the unforgettable tacky prom. We’re all creatives – dancers, writers, artists. Dayle challenged us to dig deeper and embrace the women God made us to be.

I found friendships – people who spoke life to me, journeyed with me and willingly stepped into the rawness and grittiness of my life and my pain, but also rejoiced in my new adventures and fun.

The gift of the last 10 months are priceless to me. I’m grateful for a work environment that provides a safe place for their people to grow professionally while also caring about our spiritual health. I was nurtured and healed.

I am changed forever because of this opportunity.

These 10 months provided rest for my weary soul, renewal as a missionary and healing through my losses. I was given room to simply “just be.” I wish every person in the world had the chance to experience a year of renewal, healing, personal development, life coaching, intentional relationships and safe community like our class did.

A place where vulnerability is welcomed and brokenness cherished.

To be known and fully know others: this is what the Lord wants us to experience in freedom with him and everyone else.

This is who he is.

This is who he wants us all to become.

May 18, 2015January 29, 2016

The Intersection

What I’ve found to be true in the intersection of God and us:

Life is hard. Struggle is real. We suffer often.

We lose people we love. We walk through pain and the suffering that comes with it.

The world is not kind but it is bearable. Evil exists and sin is rampant. Hope may feel elusive but it, along with love, never fails. No one has an easy life that is problem free.

When sin entered the world it guaranteed heartache for humanity for generations to come.

We climb large mountains, experience rest for a season only to see new summits on the horizons of our lives. Keep moving. Don’t stop.

God invites us to not only find him, but discover him anew in the journey of our lives. Allow our understanding of him to intersect with the actual reality of him in the pain, the deaths, the illnesses, the divorce, the abuse, the addictions, the depression, the rejection, the apathy, the loneliness, the unanswered questions, the failed faith, the church wounds, the atheism, the lifestyles and more.

Engage him in your thorns and thistles, your tears and silent sobs. I believe that what we find will simply leave us speechless. The world is beautifully scarred but God is doggedly committed and in the business of fixing broken things – namely, human beings.

May 6, 2015January 29, 2016

Finding Me Truth # 5: In The Crazy

If we didn’t experience eventful things, we often wouldn’t be aware of God’s protection and peace in the middle of the crazy, right?

Flat tires happen. I got one on Monday. Pulled over to check the damage and it sounded like a hurricane wanted to blow through the punctured hole. That tire got slayed by something beasty in the road I never saw. I was en route to check out a friend’s for sale bookcase to see if it would be a good fit in my bedroom. Once I finished there, planned to meet up with another friend and cook dinner together.

My annihilated left rear tire changed all of that.

But God is good in the middle of it all.

An auto shop was less than a minute away. I pulled into a parking spot, went inside and met J.P., a friendly mechanic full of jokes and easy to speak with. In the time it took to explain what happened to my tire and walk back outside with him, the tire had sunk flat to the ground.

Mercy.

J.P. got one of his mechanics to put my spare tire on. I made plans to get the damaged tire replaced. Though slightly frazzled, I let J.P. know he made what could have been a really stressful situation for me not stressful at all. I was able to still make my evening engagements and the night ended well.

Life can be hectic. I’ve been traveling almost back to back the last four weeks for my job. First Illinois, then Indiana, followed by Georgia and lastly Pennsylvania. Lots of flying and driving, with an allergy cold thrown in there, two leadership conferences I served with, a staff work conference, visits to college campuses to meet with students leading chapters with my organization, several meetings AND trying to eat well and stay on track with nutrition goals.

It’s been a lot.

But God is good in the middle of it all.

I made it through the travels, through the airports, through the allergies and I gained the beautiful gift of memories with some amazing people. Plus, an authentic Philly cheesesteak thrown in for good measure. You can’t just be in Philly people and NOT have one. I’m just saying.

What I’m finding to be true: In the crazy it seems like I find a little bit more of me. Sometimes crazy helps us to see who we are in the flurry of activity that surrounds us.

I don’t always like the crazy but it reminds me God is good in the middle of it all. He’s in the midst of my crazy and he’s in the middle of it. Calming fears, giving strength and reminding me he’s near. Sometimes that’s all we really need – that reminder that he’s near, even if we don’t always feel like he is. Our feelings don’t change the truth of his nearness.

May 5, 2015

Applicable

Sometimes we need to pay attention to the journey of grief and loss others are enduring before us.

You may not be in it now but a season of your own will come as transitions, death and mourning play no favorites and exempt no one.

You may realize your deep need to apply the lessons learned from the suffering of grievers to a stage that will be set before you in the near future.

Life is applicable in nature, in all things and in all seasons.

Learn from those who carry cups of tears. Their sorrow has much to offer you and greater strength than you can imagine.