by sherricrandall | Mar 8, 2024 | General
Last night as I was getting ready for bed, I was reflecting on my day and mid way through brushing my teeth, I ended up in tears. Why?
I am so grateful for my relationships with our four adult kids. It just so happened that I had talked to each of them yesterday and those conversations were filled with details of their everyday lives and their hopes and dreams for the future. Each call ended in an exchange of I love yous.
Mamas – read the story book ( for the 1,000th) time, make time for snuggles, stay up late and talk to those teenagers and cheer them on in their activities. I am convinced those hours spent long ago were the building blocks to where we are today! Have there been bumps along the way, of course! Parenting isn’t easy but it is easily the best gig on the planet!
You are most likely tired and often feel overwhelmed, honestly – at times I still do because you will always be their mama – but I can tell you your investment today is your reward in the future! God chose you to be the mom to your kiddos and He does not make mistakes. You got this mama!
by sherricrandall | Mar 5, 2024 | General
I spend a lot of time in airports and on planes. These last few months of travel have been filled with weather delays, cancelled flights, mechanical and medical emergencies. Oh the glamorous life of travel – haha!
All of these delays and cancellations has really required me to stretch myself in the area of being patient. I will be honest, it’s not easy and I struggle with being a patient person. Can any of you relate?
My observations have led me to believe there are two camps when dealing with situations that require us to be patient…
Camp 1 These are people who are calm, understanding, compassionate, and persevering.
Camp 2 These are people who are frantic, judgmental, complain and are impulsive
We have all heard the sayings, “Patience is a virtue,” “Good things come to those who wait,” or just the simple phrase of “be patient”. Easier said than done, right? It doesn’t help that we live in a frenetic world that keeps timing to a hectic pace fueled by modern conveniences, quick fixes and expectations to change over night.
I found some research by Sara Schnitker that said, we need to practice patients in three areas of our lives.
- Patience with others
- Patience with life’s hardships
- Patience with ourselves and our daily routines
I have asked myself some tough questions and I am encouraging you do the same. When confronted with a challenging situation do you live in Camp 1 or Camp 2? If you answered Camp 2, you are being super honest and that is a great place to start. It is our awareness that ultimately can bring about change. So much of life is out of our control but we can control how we react to it.
I am reminded of a passage from the Bible – Ephesians 4:2
God asks us to “conduct yourselves with humility, gentleness and patience. Accept each other with love.” Accepting and loving are always great guidelines.
Here are a few things I always keep on hand when traveling so that I have what I need to remain calm, understanding, compassionate and ultimately persevere through the situation.
- a full water bottle
- several high protein snacks
- a book ( I am a huge fan of my kindle )
- a great play list
- charged headphones
- a portable phone charger
I then incorporate prayer, kindness and understanding to those relaying the messaging, and a light hearted approach to those sitting around me. Always wanting to be part of the solution, not the problem. Do I always hit the mark, no, However; I do feel a sense of improvement as I navigate challenging travel and I believe this is spilling over into the personal areas of my life too.
I hope this helps just knowing that many of us want to be more patient and there are things we can do and practice to make our responses to life’s quirks and mishaps a bit more doable. Life is always about the journey.
by sherricrandall | Oct 20, 2023 | General
I received a panic call from a friend last week and here is what she said – “Help, I’ve been asked to host Thanksgiving dinner and I am freaking out!” Mind you, this is my friend who lists Door Dash as her BFF. After I told her to breath, we talked it out and what she was really afraid of was entertaining. Trying to impress her sister in law and worried about everything she didn’t have. So we flipped the narrative. Let’s not worry about entertaining, let’s just open our doors and make people feel welcome. That is hospitality and my friend is so good at loving people she will be the perfect hostess.
Three things to think about so you are not worried about entertaining but are able to show hospitality…
- Replace “ Here I Am” with “Here You Are”
2. Remember opening our homes to guests has nothing to do with the size of our home, the decor, or even the food. It’s about the ability we all have to make people feel welcome.
3. There is no grand blue print to follow aside from loving others.
You’ve got this!
by sherricrandall | Oct 17, 2023 | General
Why is it so hard for some of us to ask for help? “Allow people to help you, why rob them of the blessing to give?” That might be one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received. It came during a very difficult time in my life when I was struggling with my health following a double mastectomy.
I was always the one helping others, making meals, watching other people’s kids – you needed help, I was your girl.
However; when I was the one in need, it felt awkward and uncomfortable and sadly in my own pride, I tried to still do it all.
Thankful for a friend who challenged me not to rob her of the blessing to love and care for my family.
I have gotten so much better at accepting help, even asking for help when I need it. It definitely is something I still struggle with at times but I have come to believe we all need someone to hold the umbrella for us when we stand in the storm.
Don’t be afraid to ask or receive help.
by sherricrandall | Oct 17, 2023 | General
I took a walk this morning on a beautiful October day in Colorado, complete with bright blue skies and changing leaves. Here is what struck me today… some trees were still green and had no sign of autumn, others were brilliantly displaying their hues of vibrant orange, yellow and deep purple. There were even trees who had dropped all their leaves bearing only their knotted branches. Then I came across this beautiful tree laden with berries and I thought- Everything blooms in its own time. Such a great life lesson and one I wish I would have taken to heart in my younger years. It might have stopped me from comparing or feeling as if I was behind in life.
These trees, this idea of everything blossoming in its own time is a reminder to me to take a deep breath and focus on my own growth, my own journey in this current moment. Let’s not rush the process or compare our growth to others. Your beauty is your own!
Allow it to bloom and trust God’s timing.
by sherricrandall | Aug 11, 2023 | General
An Experiment in Gratitude
Be thankful for today. You only see it once.
I came across this quote several years ago, and I wrote it down. It seemed profound. I saw it during a time in my life that was particularly hard. If I am being honest, it was on a day that I would never want to repeat and I struggled to find the good in it and be thankful.
Life is like that, some days are hard and some days everything seems to align and feel carefree. It is during this time that I was desperate to find the good that I started focusing on little things that were good. A good cup of coffee, a sweet conversation, a bloom on a rosebush or the sound of a bird song drifting across the breeze. I focused on each of my kids, their unique and fun personalities. I made connection with my husband a big priority everyday – Holding hands, saying I love you.
Those gestures didn’t erase the hard, but they made me realize that hard and good can live side by side. As a matter of fact, they always do. Some days we might have to get out the proverbial binoculars to see it, but I promise you it is there if we make the effort to be intentional.
This past month, I did a 10 day “Unexpected Joy” challenge on Instagram. I shared the small things that brought me joy and asked people to join me and share their small joys too. The amount of messages I received was overwhelming. Together we intentionally sought joy which brought about a lot of gratitude. It really was the small things right in front of us.
I even had one lady tell me she found joy in her husband snoring because he had just battled a serious illness and survived and his snoring meant he was still with her. I cried when I read her message. It is the shift to gratitude that allows us to feel joy even when we are experiencing pain.
I pray today you find small things that bring you great joy!
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward.Jun 26, 2020
