17/365-Why Being Told "No" Is a Blessing

The Solution is to Work Harder- Altered Photography by Tracey Grumbach

“I do not understand it. I would not have believed that such things could happen on our farm. It must be due to some fault in ourselves. The solution, as I see it, is to work harder. From now onwards I shall get up a full hour earlier in the mornings.”
―George Orwell; Animal Farm

------------------

Today I am grateful for being told "no."  I know that sounds like a strange thing to be grateful for, but honestly, I've come to appreciate it. The other day I was chatting with a girlfriend about opportunities and making choices about a direction in life. As I have grown in my relationship with the Lord, I have not only realized that God hears all of our prayers, but He also answers all our prayers with either a "yes", a "no", or a "wait".  In my "before" life, that is life before Chronic Lyme Disease, I would often feel rejected and defeated when the answer to a prayer or a wish was "no." It made me feel not good enough, like something was wrong with me.

In my "after" life, that is life after Chronic Lyme Disease, I have drawn closer to God and began trying my best to allow Him the driver seat of my life. Instead of thinking I knew what opportunities and direction were best for me, I began trusting that His vision of my life was much better than my own. That is when I began to pray a bit differently. Now, when I pray about an opportunity or direction in my life, I pray that I may trust and be content with whatever direction He sees fit for me.

Sometimes that means being prepared for a "no" or a "wait" answer and trusting that His will is way better than my will. Matthew 20:22 shows us that sometimes, with our measly human brains and human will, we do not know what we are asking of Him. Even in asking for greatness for her sons, the mother (in Matthew 20) knows not the implications of what she is asking. How could she? How can we? We can not see into the future and all the implications and directions a certain choice will bring us.

So, today I am grateful that in two recent situations I have asked for something and have been told "no" or "wait". One was to have my art published in a certain magazine and the other was to write for a collaborative blog. Both times I was told no. My first reaction was to feel rejected and hurt, not good enough. But then I reminded myself that I can not forsee my future path. Perhaps the timing isn't right for either of these jobs. Perhaps God has in store for me even better opportunities that I can't see yet. Perhaps neither of these opportunities matched with the path God wants for me. I don't know the answer, but I do know that the one thing I can trust is God. Now, I am even more excited to see what is in store for my future rather than be dejected by "no."

To tie this all in back to the digital art piece and quote, sometimes our solutions to problems are misguided and lacking in perspective. God is never misguided and has the ultimate perspective...He is all knowing. So, perhaps the solution is not always to work harder at something but rather be still and trust Him.

Have a wonderful Saturday.

xo

Winter's Last Gasp- Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

About this image: After the wind howls and the snow accumulates, it is time for the big dig. Particularly for farmers, it is essential to be able to move about freely to care for the animals. Here in northern Maryland, we are currently experiencing a winter storm full of snow and sleet. They originally were calling for 10-15" of snow, but the sleet has cut those predictions down. This image was not taken this year. It was taken last January after we had a major back to back snow storm dumping 2-3 feet of snow in the area. Wherever you are, please check in on neighbors, especially the elderly, to make sure they are warm, safe, and have a cleared path for emergencies. Hopefully, this will be winter's last gasp. Come on, spring!

Be safe and stay warm.

xo

First Amish Snowfall- Digital Art by Tracey Grumbach

First Amish Snowfall
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

From my family to yours- wishing you all the merriest of Christmases! May your Christmas be filled with family, love, hope, peace, and joy. I plan on enjoying the holiday with my family and will be back to blogging before the New Year!

God bless, peace on earth and goodwill to all people.

xo

Disrepair

The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. 

You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poor-house. 

The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. 

I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, 

and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.

~Henry David Thoreau

I absolutely love this quote. It is so true and you must admit we all know at least one person who finds fault with everything. We all do.  Right?

This piece of digital art is based off of a farm near where I live. Since I have been here...going on 12 years, I have only known this farm to be in disrepair and falling down. But soemthing about it still draws me in. I know, I am weird, but as I said before, moody landscapes and old buildings just intrigue me. A mixture of photograph, digital painting, textures, and stamps, this digital mixed media piece is a favorite of mine. 

Don't be a fault-finder...instead see the beautiful setting sun reflecting just as brightly from the windows of the alms-house. xo

For the Inactive Windmills

For the inactive windmills, even the winds from the bird wings is a hope.

~Mehmet Murat Ildan

Hope:

1.  to cherish a desire with anticipation

2.  to desire with expectation of obtainment

3.  to expect with confidence

For such a small word, it holds not only the world on its shoulders, but also the slow burning glimmer that lives inside each soul. Four letters spells out such a broad, sweeping concept. 

Even the winds from the bird wings is a hope...

Keep hoping because as long as hope is alive, so are we.

xo

P.S. Here's to hoping we get some snow soon, y'all.  You know I love the white stuff.

If Your Daily Life Seems Poor

If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; 

blame yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches...

~Rainer Maria Rilke

I absolutely love the travels my job takes me on. I love to be in my truck, traveling to a new location, taking in all the scenery around me while tracking down my destination like a hound on a rabbit scent. For some reason, I have always been attracted to moody landscapes and dilapidated buildings, even as a young child. I've always held an eerie fascination for them that I've never been able to quite explain. I am always on the lookout for such landscapes...it calls to my soul. 

If only I could stop and interview these places, this land, this building. What have you seen in your lifetime? What blood has been spilled here? What love has sprouted and multiplied here? Spill out your stories to me.

I've been on a landscape kick for a while now and I plan on following this recent calling, especially in this dreary winter landscape which creates in me a moody, emotion filled response. I hope you enjoy this series and will look forward to seeing more in the short future. 

xo

When We Drove Past the Farm in Autumn

There is something so comforting to me about this time of year. I love the fresh chill in the air, the sound of combines working late into the night,  and the smell of the damp earth heaving a sigh before a long winter's rest. Plumes of smoke rise from bonfires, surrounded by families telling ghost stories and roasting marshmallows together. The birds become active again, some beginning their commute south while others frantically gorge on autumn seeds and grain to fill up for the long winter creeping in. This time of year seems to give us permission to exhale, to stop and look around us, and appreciate the bounty the earth has given us over the past many months. I so appreciate Mother Nature's hard work providing us with her fruits.

Sitting in the passenger side, I rode by a local farm the other day. I snapped an iPhone image of the golden cornfields blurring by me with the farm and silo in the background, partly obscured by the tall, dry cornstalks.  I didn't think much of it until later when I looked back at the image and was inspired by the gorgeous tones of the season and decided to create it into this piece. Just looking at it makes me happy, and I hope it does you too.

xo