“Blooming from Brokenness: One Woman’s Rise from Despair to Divine Purpose”

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m terrified of lizards. Yeah, I know they are innocent little creatures and that they can’t hurt me. It’s just one of those things that I’m afraid of. Interestingly, growing up in Jamaica I used to catch the creatures with my brother, Henry and his friends. Of course, once I caught them in, I’d drop the bamboo snare and run for my life. It was up to them to release them. I remembered tearing my dress off on two occasions because, you got it, lizards dropped inside. Once I had gone to enjoy the river and scenery at Castleton Botanical Gardens , St. Mary. Another time, I was at home and feeling idle, I used a sledgehammer to knock the trunk of a breadfruit tree . These incidents showed me that fear can take away other inhibitions. My poor husband, earlier in our marriage, would have had to find any lizards I had seen before I could go to sleep. I’m not that bad anymore, I’ll go to sleep if I don’t see one in my bedroom. So where am I going with t...

I realize that we sometimes get so caught up we cuss when we face some of life’s challenges. Even the smallest thing can sometimes get our goat. Today, I’m resolving to be grateful for life’s challenges for many reasons. Challenges help me garner experience; if I made a bad decision once, when faced with the same situation in the future, it is unlikely that I will make the same mistake again. There is more than a little truth to the old adage experience teaches wisdom .  While I know that many people have lost their jobs and it has caused all sorts of financial challenges, I know more than a few for whom being fired has been a blessing in disguise. Just recently, a young woman I know with four kids to take care lost her job. I was worrying about her, even though I knew she didn't like the job she had. A few weeks later, she landed another job, but even better, she was earning almost two-times what she was before. Others have taken the loss of a job as ...

I was struggling to decide what to write as I aim to complete the Ultimate Blogging Challenge for October. As usual my son, Jalen, came to the rescue. He’s my muse when I want a topic to write on. His innocent question, “Mom do you think my work can be shown in a museum?” was all that I needed. He’s a creative child, which is not surprising as his dad is a graphic artist and amateur writer.  Jalen loves music and has sporadically shown interest in playing the guitar and his former tutor says he has a natural talent. He also has a love of drawing, painting and writing poems, but again he is never consistent – he does these things in spurts. Maybe, he will come into his own as he grows and settles down to one or the other. As a mom I want to see him excel at all or even one of these things, but I will not pressure him.  As any mom would, I told him not yet, but one day who knows what will happen. He then took his latest painting to show me. Of course I thought it w...

This morning as I started my day, I read a post by PeggyLee Hanson a participant in The Ultimate Blogging Challenge for October 2012.  It was such a timely reminder that we periodically need to recharge our batteries so as to be happy in all areas of our lives. To read PeggyLee's article following this link .

I’ve been away for a week and got back to being tagged. Do you remember playing tag as a child? Wasn’t it lots of fun? Well, in the world of blogging you can be tagged by other bloggers and believe me, it’s lots of fun. Anyway, as part of UBC , I’ve met a lot of amazing bloggers and some really nice people. One of these bloggers, Victoria Harinski at Rantsand Raves of a Crazed Mom tagged me. Thank you, Victoria for asking me to play.  The rules as usual, are simple: Post the rules Answer the questions the tagger has set for you in their post Create 11 new questions to ask those you are going to tag Tag 11 people on the UBC Facebook page with a link to this post Told you it was easy to play. Now onto answering the questions, Victoria set is for: 1.        What is the best and worst memory of your childhood? WOW – this is hard, growing up in Jamaica there are so many great memories it is hard to choose.  I loved Sundays pl...

I love getting awards. I was thrilled when I went to my blog and found that I was the recipient of the Sunshine Blog Award. Thank you so much, Emily Brewer from My Inspired Life With Fibromyalgia. I was especially happy for the award because it’s given for inspiring others bloggers and I wasn’t even aware I was doing that. It certainly brought a smile to this blogger’s lips. Now, there is one little catch to actually getting the award, but this is the beauty of the deal. I have to play it forward by nominating 10 other worthy bloggers for the award and link back to the person who nominated me. Oh, yes, and answer 10 questions about me.  The rules are given in detail below.  The 10 Questions and my Answers 1.        Who is your favorite philosopher? Aristotle – we can learn so much from reading his sayings and I love that his name translates to “the best purpose’. 2.        What is your favo...

Today has been one of those days when I just want to find a corner and hide away. Everything just seems too overwhelming. Nothing seems to be going as planned, and then my son heard the ice-cream truck.  He wanted to get something.  I stopped the truck and out he went with his dad for his treat. He came back in with a giant icicle – a Jolly Rancher. The colors were amazing – red, green, orange – dazzling and best of all, was the joy on his face as he enjoyed his treat. Just watching my child enjoying this simple pleasure changed things. I asked for a taste having never had Jolly Rancher before – I liked it. And so, I asked to be allowed to captured a picture of this colorful treat. He was more than willing to allow me to do so. He’s loves taking pictures, so unlike his mom who rarely takes pictures of herself.  I realized that even if the laundry wasn’t all done today, it’s not the end of the world. There is still so much to enjoy and take pleasure in. I ...

Anger “ Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean .” Maya Angelou I must confess that sometimes I blow off steam by getting upset. I will allow things to build up and then when I feel overwhelmed, I explode for the simplest thing. There was a time when I used to feel really bad when I got upset, but I’m beginning to learn that it is good to let off steam, sometimes. Anger can be positive and I know that after I calm down I tend to see things differently. I actually make an effort to see what I can change about the situation that upset me in the first place. While anger can also be disruptive and can cause hurt, it can be used for good. In fact, anger tends to motivate me to work harder and to achieve my goals. I know that I can be hard on myself – feeling that I fail if I do not live up to my own expectations. I know that unbridled anger can have negative health effects, but so can holding anger in. I remember reading abo...

How many adults have been fortunate enough to be what they wanted to be when they were children? Certainly not me. For many of us real life steps in and we get derailed. Maybe we could have fought harder for what we wanted. Granted, no amount of fighting would have worked if lack of funds was the hindrance to fulfilling our dreams. For me, there were many things I wanted to be, but one thing remained constant – I wanted to write. Writing and reading were and still are in my blood. So yes, I never got to be a lawyer, granted it’s not too late especially since I believe it’s never too late to do many things unless you are dead. So have I been writing, yes…I write…lots. I write website content and blogs for others. I have some unfinished novels, and children’s book, one finished, one unfinished. So what is holding me back? Fear of failure – I fear that publishers will reject my labour of love and while I get great feedback I still fear rejection. And yet I know that a fear of failure ...

A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path …Agatha Christie Dear Mom, There are days when I miss you more than words can explain. You were my best friend, my protector, my counselor, you were simply, mama. I knew that I could conquer all because you believed in me. You taught me never to use the word ‘can’t’ and to believe in myself. You encouraged my dreams – never once telling me I could not achieve them.  Dear mom, you taught me to be strong, to hold my shoulders back and my head high in adversity. I have tried to do just that, but there are days when I need my mom. I need you to hold my hands and comfort me. There are days when I want to simply be a child again and have you make a fuss over me.  There are things I want to talk about, ideas to share, hidden fears that only you would understand. I play them through my mind and tr...

I was reading some posts on-line as part of the Ultimate BloggingChallenge and saw this request on the Midnight Musings blog. It was such a fun thing to do, I decided to join in and share some love.  Why not have some fun and get in on the action too – its quite simple really. Just as an aside, the order in which the top 5s are listed is not significant. I just wrote then as they came to mind. 5 FABULOUS MOMENTS Hearing my son’s heartbeat for the first time Having my son Getting married to my best friend Getting the key to my own home Having my story published in a book of stories 5 THINGS I LOVE Spending time with family Writing and reading Sleeping in when it’s raining Sundae with all the toppings Meeting interesting people 5 THINGS I DISLIKE Traffic, did I say, TRAFFIC Loud and aggressive people Negative people Silly reality shows Shopping (very un-female but I hate shopping) 5 FABULOUS BLOGGERS Midnight Musings ...