Where's The Dirt?

On Valentine’s Day, I went to Cracker Barrel to eat dinner with a friend. I am a fan of Cracker Barrel. Their food is pure Southern comfort. The creamy goodness of their sweet potato casserole, or the doughy pleasure of their chicken and dumplings, it validates my reason for living.

That day, though, we saw this happen one table over…

At the end of the meal…

A young couple with two small children and another on the way was dining next to our table.  As their adorable children proceeded to wreak havoc on the table, the floor, the high chairs, and everything within a five foot radius, we watched in rather horrified silence at the mess they left behind. 

After they left, I snapped these pictures while everyone in Cracker Barrel looked at me like I’d lost my mind.  Why would anyone want a picture of THAT???  I’ll admit…I did look rather like some sort of poster child for the modern art movement.  You know…those kinds of exhibits we see in museums that look like bags of groceries thrown carelessly down, or a random Ansel Adams photo session gone bad.  The reason I took these pictures was because I thought there was a great life lesson here.  We often leave messes behind, both in our own lives and in the lives of others.  A careless word, an unthinking action, a short tempered response, all cause pain to the people we love.  And oftentimes, we don’t realize the impact our mess has on others.

This is not a commentary on bad parenting skills.  I don’t know what those parents had been through that day.  Maybe they were both just exhausted.  Maybe one was just given some devastating news.  Maybe they just didn’t care.  On the surface, it merely looked like two young parents who had no control over their kids.  But scratch beneath that surface, and there’s a gold mine of information if we only take time to look beyond the mess. 

I really didn’t take time to look beyond the mess.  I was disgusted with the entire thing, and my initial response was, “I would bust my kid’s rear end if they did that!”  But upon reflection, I’ve made messes before.  Emotional ones.  Ones that had devastating impacts on my family and friends.  Ones that I’ve had to clean up.  I would rather scrub the floor at the Cracker Barrel, wipe the table down with disinfectant, and police the entire area until the Pope himself would’ve been proud to eat there than clean up an emotional mess, especially one of my own making.  It isn’t pretty, and the results often last a long time.

Thankfully, God cleans us up.  He picks us up, wipes the crumbs off our spiritual floor, shines the table, wipes away the nastiness, puts us in a clean, new place, and loves us through the mess.  I am grateful for that.  There is no floor too dirty that He can’t sweep.  There is no glass too broken that He can’t repair.  There is no table so germ-ridden that He can’t disinfect.  We are clean because of Him.

Our messes are big.  Our messes look much like these pictures.  But they don’t have to stay that way. We move beyond our messes and beyond our sin into the wonderful mercy and grace of His love. 

God bless!  Maranatha!

#lifecoachinglessons  #lifecoachingtips    #lifecoachingforwomen      #ninjalifecoaching    #bethechange

#lifecoachinghelps    #lifeatcrackerbarrel    #crackerbarrel    #valentinesday

I am definitely NOT Ansel Adams…

Winky Is My Hero

I have a new hero, and it’s Winky, the little bichon frise from the Westminster Dog Show. If you haven’t seen the footage of this sweet little dog, it’s only a click away on Google. This adorable little bit of fluff won the hearts of her audience as she leisurely navigated the obstacle course and even posed at the top of the A-frame for applause. Her time was the absolute worse, but her obvious enjoyment at moving at her own pace made her the darling of the show.

We can take a lesson from Winky. How leisurely do we take our lives? Do we pause to enjoy our journey, or do we rush from one mindless task to another, consumed like the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland by the flurry of busy-ness? As a life coach, part of my job is to urge people to move forward and conquer the fears and obstacles that hold them back. However, as a woman who has observed death up close and personal, I must also urge folks to revel in their days here on this earth because they’re short. As John Lennon so eloquently put it, “Life is what happens to you while your busy making other plans.” He wrote this while enjoying his role as a stay-at-home father.

There are roads to travel, cities to explore, hills to climb, valleys to breathe, and most of all, people to love. The most important aspect of our journey is the people we encounter as we trek through our lives. They are priceless treasures, pearls of enormous value, that we hold dear in our hearts and minds forever. A kind word, a helping hand, a loving act—all these things will be our legacy, our memorial. What are we leaving behind? 

Winky is the flavor of the day, thanks to the Internet. We may not all go viral like Winky, but all our lives are important, vital, and rich. If your life isn’t those things, it’s never to late to take a leisurely stroll on the obstacle course of life and change direction. Pause at the pinnacle and look around. Hear the heavenly applause in appreciation of a life well lived. It’s there. We just have to pause and take time to hear it.

God bless. Maranatha

#lifecoachinglessons

#lifecoacchingtips

#bethechange

#lifecoachingforwomen

#lovemydog

This picture isn’t Winky, but it’s the cutest little bichon frise I could find without violating copyright laws...

Ninja Life Coaching - NEW BLOG!!

Hello, Fellow Ninjas!

Welcome to my blog! I am so excited to be able to provide good content for you guys!

Today we’re simply gonna take a quick look at Hebrews 9:27 - “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.” It’s not necessarily one of those comforting Bible verses you curl up with at night while trying to fall asleep. It’s nothing like the 23rd Psalm. Today, let’s just focus on the first part of that verse.

A day of appointment comes to us all. We can be certain of one thing in this life—at some point, it ends. The ending is never easy for family and friends. In fact, it can be devastating. It sucks the marrow right out of the bones of our lives and leaves us dry and empty.

When I think about Greg’s death in light of Hebrews 9:27, it gives me comfort in an odd sort of way. It relieves me of the worry and stress of “did I do enough,” “did I pray enough,” and “what do I regret?” That last thing is a big thing on the widow’s list, because most of us have regrets. We regret moments we could’ve spent and didn’t. We regret words we’ve spoken that we shouldn’t. We regret time denied. But, if we think about those things in light of the above verse, the day was already appointed. And nothing could stop it.

I’m often asked if I believe God changes His mind about things. I do. I fervently believe we have opportunities to bombard heaven’s gates with our prayers and touch the throne room of God. However, I also believe there are things about which God does not change His mind. And in my situation, with my husband, it was the date of Greg’s death. I say this only as a human can speak. Maybe God did change His mind multiple times over the years, and yet at last, the day came, and Greg died. I don’t pretend to understand the mind of God. That’s why He’s God and I’m Elaine The Ninja Life Coach.

I don’t know the answer to these questions. I only know that on Greg’s appointed day, he passed from this life into his next. I know that one day, I will do the same. I don’t know when, and I don’t know how, but I do know it’s inevitable. And I’m okay with that. Just knowing that one day everything will be perfected gives me joy and peace when I struggle. I hope it does the same for you.

If you feel so inclined, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear from you about your experience.

God bless! Maranatha!