Keyword: summer

  • Wonderfully Made

    Photo by Kim Kotecki

    There are weeds in life, yucky distractions and demands that suck our time and steal our joy. But goodness can pop up if we stop and look a little closer.

    Our youngest daughter and I were at the gas station after a series of discouraging events that left me in tears of frustration. As we walked inside we were both surprised by what unfolded.

    A sweet older gentleman employee met our eyes warmly. His sincere welcome hit my heart immediately. His job was to hand out samples of the new food items being promoted, but he did WAY more than give us bite-sized samples.

    He asked my daughter about her cowboy boots and complimented her silky blonde hair. We all discussed our love for lemon donuts, sharing playful banter that was unexpected and genuine. After it was all said and done he upgraded his original offering of the bite-sized lemon donut bite to a full-sized donut, joking that he might get fired but he didn’t care.

    He made us feel special, taking a closer look at us, and noticing our need for some extra love and attention. 

    Slowing down to notice the details matters.

    If you look a little closer at what’s right in front of you, you might be surprised by what you find. 

    You will never be able to keep all of the weeds out of your life. They are abundant and pop up too quickly. Daily challenges and discouragements come with the experience of living. But you can embrace what you’ve got in your midst with a fresh perspective.

    Receiving the unexpected gift of kindness from this stranger reminds me of the truth that even amidst the weeds of life, we are ALL wonderfully made.

  • Weeds or Wishes

    “Weeds or Wishes” by Jason Kotecki. Digital art.
    Shop this art!

    “Dagnabbit! An army of weeds has taken over the yard. Better call the weed guy.”

    That’s how most people assess a backyard overrun with dandelions. But not children.

    They see a thousand wishes. Thousands of flowers to give to mom.

    It’s true: a backyard flush with dandelions can inspire an hour of exciting adventure for a five-year-old. The same backyard can also inspire an hour of expletive-laden adjectives for a fifty-year-old.

    It’s the exact same scene. But an entirely different perspective.

    A person came up to me after one of my presentations, and under her breath, sheepishly admitted, “I’m sorry, but they’re still weeds to me.”

    I thought that was interesting, especially because I never actually said they weren’t. Dandelions are, at least horticulturally speaking, weeds. But they are also, according to most four-year-olds, wishes. (And flowers for Mom.)

    The thing is, challenges are like weeds. Once a challenge has sprung up in your life, pretending that it doesn’t exist doesn’t make it true.

    A field of dandelions may very well represent a million weeds, but it can also represent a million wishes. It’s both. The power comes in deciding which viewpoint you choose to adopt.

    They are weeds. They are also wishes. The cool thing? You get to choose which one you spend more time focused on. And your choice can change everything. It’s the most important factor that determines the likelihood of your happiness and success.

    For example, let’s say you lose your job. Waking up tomorrow and going back to your previous place of employment is not going to change that fact (but may merit you a restraining order). Likewise, while grieving is normal and healthy, spending every day from here on out wishing you still had that job, being angry about being let go from that job, and telling yourself over and over again that no job could ever measure up to that one is only ensuring one thing: that you’ll never find the next (potentially better!) job.

    Challenges are real. They’re hard, uncomfortable, and often very much unwanted. If we spend our time and energy complaining about a challenge, we miss out on the fact that it’s also an opportunity. 

    So. What frustrating, terrible, no-good thing has sprung up in your life recently?

    Let’s not pretend that it’s not frustrating, terrible, or (seemingly) no good.

    But let’s remember that it could also be an opportunity – a chance – for something awesome.

    Believe it or not, most of the things we don’t like about life are changeable. The tricky part is that in order to get the result we desire, the first thing that needs to change is…us.

    Is it really that simple? Actually, yes.

    A change in perspective can change everything.