1.03.2015

THIS GIRL--A POEM

Little girl,
you were always happiest
losing yourself
in your imaginary worlds
Batman, secret agent, cowgirl in the west.

Good girl,
yes mam, no sir, thank you and please
so tender hearted
in your southern world
loving Jesus, praying on your knees.

Hurt girl,
you learned quick and hard
trust vigilantly
in your dangerous world
watch, listen, wait and guard.

Wise girl,
today you know better
living boldly in your writer world
scribbling out your heart with letters.

God's girl,
everyday you learn anew
taking chances
in your bold world
knowing God never left you.

1.01.2015

WRITING MY WAY THROUGH

Here I am. It is day one of 2015. This year is beginning all shiny and fresh.

It is a crisp, white, blank sheet of paper waiting for me to write the script. Waiting for me to take my pencil and make that first broad stroke of the first letter of the first word of my story.

This story will not be last year's story. It does not start the same. It will not end the same. In this story, I commit to write 500 words a day, to pursue better health and be more active, to be better. To not quit. I will continue to chase my dreams, laugh, love, listen to my heart and have faith.

This story. I will not know what each chapter will hold for me. But I will help write it. This story may have more tight turns and steep hills than I expect. And it is likely that I will get lost along the way, from time to time, but in my faith, I will find my way. I will find myself in new territory and my past may help me conquer old ghosts. I may find my superpowers when I least expect to. I may chase my muse in the darkness or we may dance together across a page.

This will be an adventure.

I will face the monsters. I will stare down my fear and write through the darkness and when the light of day finds me still writing, I will be smiling. I will celebrate my wins and push against my struggles. I will sharpen my pencil and my wit against my arch enemy--writer's block. I will scribble my way out of the terrifying corner, I may write myself into. I will push on. I will not concede.

I will step bravely into each day with kindness, a willingness to learn and I will be eager to find more wisdom with each chapter. When the words flow easily I will say a prayer of thanks, when they stutter, I will pray for help. I will use the lessons I learn from the previous chapter to create the next. I will learn to be brave. I will not let my scars keep me from believing I can fly again. Instead, I will sail through the sky of second chances. I will not let hurdles become walls and fear become a force. I will learn when to tiptoe around the creaky boards and when to run into the crashing waves to tell part of the story. I may have to face the demons that taunt me in my dreams and chase the shadows out of the corners of long forgotten pain.

I will dig deep for the strength within me when it is needed. I will not shirk from wading into the deep cold water when I am called to swim. Along the way, I will remember to look up and lose myself in a star filled sky, savor the warmth of a sunny day and welcome the rain when it falls. The seasons are quick to pass and I must be able to write my way through them.

I am ready.

Let my story begin.