Where Hope Grows is a movie title, but it just seemed to fit today. So I stole it. (That and the monarch.)

I’ve always loved a cheerful gerbera daisy. And since 1994, it’s been a symbol of hope for me. Last June I planted a gerbera annual in a shiny red pot by our side door. It got plenty of sunlight and water, but it never bloomed. The leaves were healthy and shiny, vivid green.

So in July I started regularly fertilizing it to encourage it along. Nothing. My gerbera daisy simply refused to comply. By the end of August I pretty much gave up and left it to its own devices. So many pretty green leaves, but no blooms.

So imagine my surprise this past week when I came up the steps from grocery shopping (mid-October) to discover an enormous, cheerful orange gerbera daisy peeking out from under the foliage. I was so surprised. Guess it was just a late bloomer after all.

It reminded me of that time over two decades ago shortly after Jon and I were first married. We lived in a little rental house in Easley, South Carolina right around the corner from the local fire department. We had lots of potted flowers on our front steps during the summertime, and when fall came, we stored them in a small shed area attached to the side of the house.

When spring arrived – early March down there – we headed to the shed for the yard tools and pots for planting.

I’ll never forget how blown away I was opening the shed door after the long winter. Sunlight flooded in, and there sitting on the ground was a pot. Growing from the pot was one long green stem about a foot tall with one brilliant coral gerbera daisy in full bloom. Not one leaf. Just a lone stem and flower. It was a miracle. The pot sat in darkness for five months. No water. No sunlight. (No classical music!) And still the brilliant bloom.

I was reminded then as I am now, that sometimes beautiful things happen in the dark. That’s often Where Hope Grows.

I’ve chatted with many friends and family in the past few weeks. There are a lot of discouraged folks out there right now for a lot of different reasons. (And the debates didn’t exactly help.)

And I’m reminded that hope is a beautiful thing. And that beautiful things often happen in the cover of darkness. Sleep and rest. Babies grow inside their mamas. Seeds germinate. Stars twinkle.

Caterpillars morph into beautiful butterflies.

And it’s the darkness that best displays the brilliance of true Light. So now’s a good time to light your candle if you haven’t already. I’m lighting mine.

NEWSFLASH: Happy weekend, friends. Thanks so much for dropping by to read my weekend musings. I’ve published a weekend post nearly every Saturday morning for almost two years now. My heart is full and I so appreciate each of you who take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to stop by.

I want you to be the first to know that my publishing schedule is changing somewhat. I won’t be publishing a Saturday morning musing each week. While I’ll continue writing my musings from time to time, they won’t be every week. Or even necessarily on Saturdays. I’ll also be republishing some of my favorite musings along the way.

Why the changes? Well I initially started this blog as a business. I really had no idea what direction it would take. But it’s the recipes that overwhelmingly draw the web traffic and produce income. With one in college and several more waiting in the wings, I’m needing to focus more on the ‘bread and butter’ of my blog.

While the weekend musings have without a doubt been my favorite part of this blogging journey, I recognize I’m needing to live more, work ‘smarter’ and spend more time with my precious family.

Thanks for being such understanding, loyal friends and the best readers anywhere. Have a wonderful weekend! XOXO

You may also like: Buried or Planted?

The post Where Hope Grows + Newsflash appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

Charlie and I were planting carrot seeds in the garden again this past week and I was reminded of this piece Buried or Planted. Maybe a special someone out there needs this today. Wishing you a beautiful, peace-filled June weekend. XOXO allie

Hello friends, and happy weekend. Even though I have a summer cold (bleh), I’m in my little happy place. My happy place includes warm sunshine, blooming lilacs, hanging planters and my little patch of garden planted.

Watching things grow is therapeutic for me. (Plant therapy.) Ha. I pine for this all winter long. You too?

Charlie and I went to buy seedlings for the garden on Memorial Day. I love to shop at Tanglewood Gardens in Bedford, NH. It’s a local business run by the Domowy family, and I try to buy local when I can.

Their choices of tomato plants alone were absolutely dizzying. I read the tomato labels aloud to Charlie one by one as we were choosing our plants. After reading the Beefsteak label, he got a funny look on his face.

“That’s so weird they can grow beef on a tomato plant,” says Charlie.

Kids are so funny. So literal.

The one true disappointment we had was that they ran out of carrot seedlings. The man helping assured us we could grow carrots from seed and we still had plenty of time. (They didn’t have any carrot seeds there.)

So when we get home, Charlie and I plant the seedlings in the garden very methodically, in neat, organized little rows. Everything in its proper place. Tomatoes, yellow and red peppers, jalapeños, zucchini, lettuce. (Thought I bought green peppers too, but double bought yellow by accident. Grrr.)

So apparently Charlie told Jon of our carrot plight, and wheedled an envelope of organic carrot seeds out of him at Home Depot later that afternoon.

No one bothered to tell me.

That night Charlie tells me Daddy bought him the carrot seeds. He hands me the seed envelope.

Empty.

Nervously I ask where he planted the carrot seeds.

“Oh everywhere. Everywhere I could find a little space.”

Uh huh. Guess we’ll be eating orange root vegetables. Carrot sticks. Carrot souffle. Roasted carrots. Carrot pudding. Carrot muffins. Giggle. And I do wonder what my presently ordered little raised beds, my happy place, will look like in a few weeks. Less orderly. (And probably a whole lot happier.)

I was thinking about the above quote while we were planting, came across it last week. There’ve been times when I thought I was buried. Literally. And come to find out, I was just germinating. Some of us take a little longer than others.

If you’re feeling buried in a dark place today, take heart.

Maybe you’ve just been planted.

I’ve had a few times in life where I felt buried. A couple stretches were years long. When you’re in that dark place, the wait feels interminable. Crushing.

This song Blessings was instrumental in carrying me up to the surface. Helped me wait. Gave me hope. Maybe it will for you too.

2013 – Laura Story and me

I heard Laura perform this song live several years ago. Heard. Couldn’t see her. Blurry for the tears. Listened to this song a hundred times. Probably more. Hope it blesses you, buoys you up to the surface, towards Light.

Blessings by Laura Story

“We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It’s not our home

‘Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise”

  

The post Buried or Planted? appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.

Hey friends, chatting about Snatching Joy Wherever I can here today.

Lilacs blooming in my yard, so intoxicating!

It’s been a long week for me personally and also in our city of Manchester, NH. Thursday night – a lock-down on the west end – two of our city police officers shot during the night.

The officers are young, 27 and 28 respectively. Thank God they’ll both fully recover.

The schools on the west end were closed during the man-hunt yesterday. Thankfully the suspect, accused of robbing a convenience store earlier in the week, is now in custody. Exhale.

If you read here regularly you know I strive to stay positive and upbeat. But even more, for authenticity. Which is why I’m telling you the truth, what’s really going on here behind the scenes.

And my crab apple tree….stunning!

So how about for you?  How was your week? It’s a crazy world out there isn’t it? And none of us knows quite what’s coming down the pike next. That’s why we need to snatch the joy moments whenever/wherever we can.

Crazy life. And a busy one too.

Oops, did I say that? A few years back Jon and I made a pact that we weren’t going to waste our time or breath talking about our state of “busy-ness” anymore.

Well I think the topic came up initially because we caught ourselves responding to those who asked how we were doing, telling them about how busy we were. So boring and monotonous to the listener, for sure. (Folks were so polite, didn’t mention it.)

Because the truth is, whose life isn’t busy? So we’re choosing to call it “full”. Ha. Yes, we’re leading a very “full” life.

We find ourselves betwixt and between in a number of ways, but mostly with our kids right now. We’ve got an eighteen year old headed to college in the fall and our littlest guy Hudson with Down syndrome, just turned six.

Still in diapers, still waiting on words. Plus we’ve got a few boys in between.

The other day Jon and I spent the evening with our big guy working on college scholarship applications. Finally, finally….about midnight we all head to bed, thoroughly exhausted.

We’re met in the upstairs hallway by a tell-tale odor. Oh no. Hudson. A diaper. Upon further investigation, the pajamas also need changing. Also sheets. And mattress pad.

Jon bags up the offending diaper, hands it to me while he tucks the still-sleeping Hudson snug into his clean bed.

And I sigh in a whisper,” I am NOT taking this outside now,” and head to drop it in the hallway. And Jon, he quietly motions, takes the bag.

Raises the window sash, ceremoniously drops the bag out the window onto the front walkway. Shuts the window.

These crazy days, we just gotta think outside the box friends. And I’m thankful to be married to a man who does. Even at midnight.

So when life gets full, super saturated, how do we snatch joy? It can be elusive for sure.

I’ve been intentionally thinking about it this week, thought I’d share a few tiny ways I intentionally grab a little joy. Simple things.

• A fun paper straw in my water glass.
• A stroll through the yard, discovering the latest blooms.
• Writing a quick note to a friend on letterpress stationery.
• Texting a friend.
• A quick walk around the block.
• Savoring a hot drink from a hand thrown pottery mug
• Surrounding myself with beauty whenever I can.

• Shoes – fun ones.
• Dreaming of the future.
• Catching a glimpse of the sunset.
• A glass of wine with my love after a long day.
• A quiet few minutes at Barnes & Noble, flipping through my favorite magazine.
• Browsing at Paper Source or a specialty yarn shop.

So many more, but I’ll stop there.

I know people like this. And I want to be one of those souls – who find the joy everywhere – and leave it behind when they go.

So tell me friends, how do you snatch moments of joy in this crazy busy (oops…FULL) life?

Hope you’ll share, I’m all ears. Have a beautiful weekend, and grab the joy wherever you can!

You may also like: Buried or Planted

The post Snatching Joy Wherever I Can appeared first on Through Her Looking Glass.