Hiking in Pearls

Tag: Abundant Life

  • Growing Pains at the Deli Counter

    Growing Pains at the Deli Counter

    I wanted to stop. To ask the man behind the deli counter to slice some cheese and lunch meat. I didn’t. I couldn’t.

    After all, I was raised that you don’t ask for help. Ever.

    The chill of the grocery side of the store dissipated with each step. Colby Jack floated through my thoughts while I set a bag of cat food into the cart.

    I found myself reasoning that the man did agree to certain tasks when he took the job at the deli. I would not be wrong to ask him to cut something.

    I circled back and waited while he helped someone else. Soon, it was my turn. “Could I get a pound of Colby Jack?”

    “Sure. How do you want it cut?”

    “I don’t know. Normal cheese thickness, I guess.”

    He smiled. Clearly, he realized this was my first time.

    I watched as the cheese piled up on the scale. One pound didn’t look like much.

    “Give me another pound.”

    He obliged.

    Applying what I learned with the cheese, I confidently ordered two pounds of lunch meat. Sympathetic to my inexperience, he offered to cut it to the same thickness as the cheese.

    “Perfect,” I agreed.

    Reader, let me tell you, first off, two pounds of deli meat is a lot. Secondly, meat cut to cheese thickness, is really thick.

    Internally, I laughed all the way to the checkout and wondered where I could share this accidental surplus.

    Did I fail in my first deli order because I had more than I needed? Absolutely not.

    Not only did I walk away with extra food, but I carried a good bit of self-confidence that I will be able to apply to other aspects of life.

    Also, I learned that it’s not wrong to ask for help. In fact, I found the opposite to be true. It is brave.

    How about you? Is there a place you have been resisting growth because it may cause discomfort? Maybe you’re unsure how to begin?

    I want to encourage you to step up to the moment and allow the occasion to strengthen you. Even if it doesn’t turn out exactly the way you thought it might.

    Be gentle with yourself. You’re growing, and that is worth applauding.

    Here’s to growing pains and cold cuts.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • Gone Fishing

    Gone Fishing

    The dog days of summer have arrived in full force. All week, we have been under heat advisories as the heat index has soared into triple digits, and fishing is the only thing that the boy wants to do. So we went.

    It was early and already hot. The humidity made the air heavy, and the fish were biting superbly! Within three minutes, we had our first fish.

    My favorite part though…the part that I never want to forget was when that sweet little boy filled his pockets with worms to take with him. I offered him the tub, but he declined. “It’s okay. I got pockets,” he said.

    “Yeah, I guess you do,” I responded as he walked away so big, and I wondered if I would find pieces of worms in the laundry later.

    In my mind, I shake the Polaroid I took of the moment until the image becomes clear. There he is, worms flipping between his fingers in a vain attempt to escape the black abyss of his pocket.

    Here’s to the worms that were made for pockets.

  • Had you noticed?

    Had you noticed?

    Had you noticed?

    That today is held together by a thread of gold and sprinkled with diamonds.

    I can hear you ask, “Where is the thread of gold and what of diamonds?”

    They were there linked together in a glistening sunrise. Stretching far across the morning sky. It was a silent plea to see the awe in the world that surrounds you.

    They intertwined to awaken your senses in the gentle breeze that caressed your skin and carried a bird song to delight your ear.

    The rain that fell upon you…it whispered one of the mysteries of life. Did you pause to hear it?

    A child may have invited you to watch this or watch me! Their enthusiasm was mingled with the gold in the invitation to remember. To wonder. To join their world and the enthralling excitement of discovery. And the child…the child is the diamond.

    They wrapped themselves around you tightly in tears by the graveside. To have loved so deeply is beauty all its own.

    Reader, this moment will never be again.

    Did you see the gold today, sprinkled with diamonds?

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • I No Longer Chase The Presence of God

    I No Longer Chase The Presence of God

    A few months ago, I found myself in a critical place needing to hear God’s voice.

    So, I did the most reasonable thing I could think of and I packed my bags and booked a last-minute Airbnb five hours away.

    The expectations for my weekend alone with the Lord gained strength with each passing mile.

    Soon, my imagination began to unfold with images of the off the wall restaurant I would find to eat at. I could see me sitting at a table. Alone, yet not alone. I heard the clatter of silverware against the plates…I considered what treasures I might find as I poured over the scriptures locked away with my Saviour over the next few days.

    When I finally made it, I first noticed the gentle waves that brought life to the lake that lay directly in front of the guest house. The fading sunlight tiptoed a ballet on top of the ripples while a deer watched from the woods that ran alongside the lake.

    As the weekend progressed invisible darts hit every balloon of anticipation I had created. In tears I ended the trip holding hands with Sorrow and Self-Pity. I never heard His voice. I never received the answers I so desperately sought.

    Not eager to get home I made various stops along the way. Pausing to take pictures from the side of the road, but the miles could only be stretched so far before I found myself pulling into the driveway.

    I was home.

    My hands were in my pockets, and I was standing behind the car looking over my property when I heard Him. His still small voice beckoning me to walk with Him. So, I meandered towards the backlot and all the answers I had driven hours away for poured in like a flood.

    They had been here all along.

    His presence is with me. Right here. Right now. I don’t have to hunt for Him. He has made His home with me.

    He is, where I am.

    Just as Moses found Him in the burning bush in the desert where he kept his flock (Exodus 3) and Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19). God was found exactly where they were.

    God is with us. All around us. Living inside of us.

    What freedom there is that He has made Himself available right where we are. How wonderful it is that we don’t have to chase Him.

    I want to encourage you reader, He’s right here.

    Find your rest.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • Contentment – The Secret of Enough

    Contentment – The Secret of Enough

    The breeze that brushed across my skin gave promise of the rain to come. The sky would weep tears of life today, but for now time was given in plenty to pick blackberries.

    Instinctively, I plucked a berry from the vine. A cluster of balls held tightly to a single core formed one perfectly, imperfect unit. There were a dozen hazy reflections of my silhouette on their dark skins. All offering a glimpse of my soul.

    I learned the secret of enough.

    Enough is the mother that births contentment.

    I had two one-quart baskets with me today. Sufficient for what I have need of. There was a time not so long ago that I would have brought multiple large bowls with me.

    I now stroll to the pace of plenty. I no longer have to force myself into the secret places of the briers and glean all that is hidden. Only to labor in storing berries that have no purpose.

    I no longer have an urgency to heap unto myself all that I can.

    Today I was able to place a berry in my mouth and allow my tongue the moments needed to search out the valleys that the swollen spheres had created. How the tender flesh of the berry gave way quickly under gentle pressure and offered the sweet flavor that is uniquely its own.

    It was in being present that I noticed berries expanding with life so much so that my soft touch caused them to spill their crimson stains upon my hand.

    I walked away from the berry patch brimming with peace…and blackberries – enough.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose

  • Three Word Story Challenge – Part 7

    Three Word Story Challenge – Part 7

    Faith – Love – Storage

    Words are so much more than a mark on paper or a part of speech to me. Each one is alive and is cloaked with an image. A picture I see in my mind. When they are strung together as a sentence a private film begins to play in my psyche.  

    It was no different when he prayed for me.

    I bowed my head as he talked to our Heavenly Father on my behalf. “Lord, I just ask that you would increase her faith.”

    Yes, faith is good. In the perception of my mind, I held out my open hand and received the package containing faith. I had a fly-fishing creel hanging on my shoulder, and I placed the box into the rectangular basket that rested at my side. It easily fell into the cavity.

    “Give her courage,” he continued.

    Yes! I need courage. With my hand extended a parchment that had been rolled up with a gold ribbon around it was placed on my palm. My fingers circled around it, and I put it in the bag. Even with these items it looked empty. There was vast storage for more.

    “And help her to understand Your love.”

    Love. A moment went by and my empty hand still hadn’t been filled so I looked up. That’s when I saw the back of a dump truck. With the gate open it began to lift, and love poured out slowly and then completely. I couldn’t contain it all! A mountain of love was formed around me. Covering me on all sides!

    I haven’t left that spot since. I am still surrounded by the love of my Heavenly Father.

    Reader, my prayer for you today is Ephesians 3:17-19 KJV. That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height: And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with the fulness of God.

    In grace and peace,

    Sharon Rose