....not sure if this is the correct title for this story, but we'll see. If you have any suggestions for a title, let me know. I wrote this story April 23, 2020. When I was praying this morning, I was pondering life and the path and plan of our lives. I started to see someone walking--hiking, really--in a rocky, hilly, forested place. She was continuing on a trail that was not always clear to see but continually moved upward. When she took her focus off the path, she naturally moved to an easier path that led her far from her original route and destination. The easier way was beautiful and more comfortable to follow. When the traveler finally realized how far off her original path she had come, she immediately began to forge a new path to get back to where she wanted and needed to be. Both of the previous paths she had followed had been traveled--the easier one was obviously more well-worn than the more difficult one. But this new path didn't exist before the traveler began to...
I was switching laundry over in the laundry room and happened to look over at the footage of our security cameras (mounted on the roof of the house), and I noticed how absolutely beautiful my front yard looks right now. The grass is a beautiful dark green and looks full and nicely trimmed. The palm trees are tall and trimmed. It looks absolutely picture perfect. I found this amusing because I know when I'm outside and looking at my front yard that it is not perfect AT ALL. The grass is growing unevenly. There are bare spots. The palm trees are just about ready to be trimmed again. And there is a giant dead tree that needs to be cut down because large branches keep falling off. Then, I thought how much we are like my yard. At a distance, we might look pretty picture perfect to others, but if we really get up close and personal with each other, we begin to see each other's imperfections and areas that need work. And if we really truly get to know one another, we get glimpses of...