How To Build A {New} Life: Take Notice of the Light

"Rest isn't inactivity. Rest, to me, is a place of total trust."   ~Bill Johnson

So good, right? And that is where I have been lately (and why I am not sitting in this chair quite as much!)

Still - you know how I love freewriting and my Five Minute Friday tribe... and also this: God showed up and showed off in such a unique way this week, I couldn't NOT write about it... even if just for five minutes!

The One Word Prompt for the FMF this week is: BUILD

{GO}

I don't know how many of you may know or remember that my One Word for 2016 is Change.  Let's just keep that in mind as we move forward here today.

Change.

I have dreaded it... I have fought it hard, only to lean in in surrender and learn to anticipate it, drenched in hope.

I have preached it time and time again --how kicking against it is fruitless but how embracing it with arms wide open makes for a harvest of goodness.

But I have not always lived it.

I am still learning...

For months now, I have noticed an unusual amount of Dragonfly sightings.  So much so that I have told both my girlie and my Honey that I need to look into what they mean. But I get home and I forget all about it.

There is an abundance of them surrounding me - sometimes one at a time in a parking lot or in flight around my car. Sometimes I find --wait for it, a 'beauty' (group) of them along a walk down through the Canyon or up around the orchards. But never have I encountered them like I did a few days ago!

On Monday, change came at us full force and stormy... a bit unsteady and spinning.

It's funny how quickly wind can gust and swirl to bring about a long awaited flight... freedom longed for and yet, not like this. A text and a heart shattered... with just a bit of new life pushing up to break new ground... just a tiny ray of hope, ready to see the light.

How we build a new life is to take notice of the light. We sow and we pray and we wait... letting only love and grace water down deep... When we want to worry, we choose peace.  When we are tempted to fear, we let hope stir instead. When all that is around us is seemingly dark, we look to the light and we wait... we rest... we trust.

Life can be fragile and delicate and in the middle of the day --as hearts were tender and tears fell free... as plans were altered and boundaries set... I sat in the garden to pray.

My head was bowed and my lips silently moving as I cried out to God for healing and hope... and I caught a glimpse of shadows dancing and I opened my eyes to find three dragonflies circling me and landing in our garden.  Every few minutes they would take to flight and surround me, only to return to rest amongst the flowers.  

They had my full attention and I held my breath for fear that they would leave. After nearly twenty minutes, I took a chance and ran inside to grab my camera and I leaned in close.  

So much beauty. So much grace.

(Her, and them.)

As Light reflects and shines through their wings, Light Himself shines and my heart is captured in this moment of ridiculous wonder.

Such detail. So much fragility and strength.

I sit on the patio and let them play in the garden and draw my attention and my hope and after an hour or so, I head inside to dig in to what they mean.

What does a Dragonfly symbolize or represent?

Because it was such an emotional day and I have learned to pay attention to details and blessings even on hard days... I looked up the meaning online and wouldn't you know it, Dragonflies symbolize ‪‎Change‬! They represent a ‎Renewal ‬and ‎Resurrection‬ after a time of hardship... They can also mean ‪‎Freedom, Transformation‬, and Light‬! 

Because, of course...right? 
Just of course!

{STOP}

They stayed literally until the sun went down.  Hours and hours, just resting in the Garden... and the fact that there were three of them (and three of us) was not lost on me.  The fact that they came - having never been there before --or, I am sad to report, since-- was not lost on me!

Some may call it a coincidence or try to explain it away. 
But I know better!

God speaks to us in many ways... and on a very hard day --he set to flight a 'beauty' of dragonflies to capture my attention and encourage my heart.  

A promise of New Life... Change, long awaited for... Light breaking through... Hope arising... Renewal and Resurrection after hardship... Freedom... Transformation... Light!

And all I can do is give thanks for the beauty all around... even in the midst of the broken and messy.

We count gifts and we pray... and we give thanks for all the ways He surrounds us - on bright happy sunny days, as well as on the dark and stormy ones, too!

And still... always...

We remember to:

Linking up with Kate Motaung and the #fmfparty Community today.  Five Minute Fridays gives us the chance to dive right in and share what He puts on our hearts! Click HERE to read what others have to say about: "BUILD"

The FMF lowdown: The gathering happens on Twitter on Thursday nights & then we write our hearts out & hit publish all over the interwebs on Thursday & Friday (& sometimes on Tuesdays!) It's where we encourage & uplift... where we share prayer requests & praise reports... where we talk food & friends & we find support & kindred hearts. It's where we are reminded that life is good & God is good & we're not alone... & then we all write for five minutes flat, a flash mob of wordsmiths letting our hearts & our fingers do the talking tapping & we hit publish before we can second guess it all away. We'd love to have you join us!

I'm also linking up with the lovely writers and communities listed and linked below :

#FreshMarketFriday... how adorable is that?

Kelly Chripczuk for #SmallWonders 

Holly Barrett for #TestimonyTuesday

Kelly Balarie for #RaRaLinkUp

Holley Gerth for #CoffeeForYourHeart

Lori Schumaker for #MomentsofHope

Jennifer Dukes Lee for #TellHisStory