Author: The WheatandTares

The Facade

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There She Goes

You know the one
She’s got her recipes plastered on Pinterest…all her beautiful cakes and dishes…Her creative parties and house decor…All those perfectly clean rooms and floors…
You know, supermom.
She’s got her status posted everyday of how wonderful life is, how precious her little angels are.
She adores her husband and he adores her.
She wrote just last night of how he brought her flowers for no particular reason.
Her ring is a true rock and her clothes always looks perfect and that hair…
Geez, does she go to the salon everyday?!
She’s not just supermom; she’s super wife!…Super-woman!!
She’s got to have it all and have it all together!
Or so you would think…
Yet, you didn’t see her last night snap at her husband and go to bed angry.
You weren’t there last week when she screamed at the kiddos when they spilt the milk.
You didn’t even know she ran back in the house this morning, make up streaming, baby spit up in her hair, Cherrios crushed down her new blouse, the car out of gas….because some Fridays just really start as Mondays.
You don’t realize she stresses out before every group event, because she’s really an introvert and worries about being accepted.
You don’t recognize the tears that brim as she smiles and slightly turns away so you can’t see.
You just don’t see her under the facade…
She awoke again terrified in the night …another nightmare…
She went straight to the babies’ rooms, scared that he had found her after all these years.
She’s suffered such abuse, such neglect, she wonders if anyone could ever truly care.
She wanders through this life simply surviving breath by breath, minute by tiny minute.
You never see her there, in the dark, all alone.
It’s all a facade.
It’s all a fancy charade to obtain a moment of sanity.
She dances with the emotions and she paints on the portraits.
All the while, she keeps the pain, the agony, the death, hiding there inside.
It’s time to coax her from the shadows, to give her hope for what might be.
It’s time to let go of our perceived perfection and love her for who she is, to help her dream of who she can one day become.
We must show her the hope she can have in Him.
We have to reach her, to be His hands extended, or she’ll forever be lost in her pain.
We’ve got to see past the facade to show her He died that she might live.
We must take off our own masks to let His love pour in; then, she may know His love and mercy that will sustain her, give her life and fill her with her with perfect peace.  
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Daily Prompt: Facade

Answer to Friday’s Angle #15

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Did you guess right yesterday? 

 In light of Monday being Memorial Day, I thought ending the week with a little red, white and blue might be nice.  🙂  

It is a patriotic wreath a sweet friend of mine made:

     I hope you’re having fun with these! See you next week! 🙂

Friday’s New Angle #15

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It’s Friday, and it’s time again for a New Angle! 🙂

  

America the Beautiful

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Her majestic mountains once rose above the clouds; 

They once challenged men to climb her rugged stairs to bow.

Her magnificent waterfalls once dropped deep into the valley;

They once inspired men to race down her rocky waves to rally.

Her awesome wildlife once soared above or scurried below;

They once entranced men to follow her and reap what they’ve sown.

 

These men have come and abused her rugged land.

They have crumbled her majestic mountains to form contraband.

These men have come and drained her waterways.

They have closed her powerful rivers to produce longer days.

These men have come and devastated her wilderness.

They have destroyed her beautiful creatures to make a their money nest.

 

Because of this,  America is in what we abide.

Man has taken over, ruled and abused her countryside.

They have caused her air to pollute, her animals to scatter and her flowers to wilt.

And still, many of them ask, “Why is America what she is today? …Upon what is this country built?”

Only time can show what we have produced, nurtured or half-baked.

Only you and I can change this and make improvements from our mistakes.
There is still hope to redeem this beautiful land. 

There is still opportunity to protect her sacred sands. 

We must awaken the passion. We must arise from our slumber. 

We can change it, but we must first acknowledge out blunder. 


Recognition is the first step to healing. 

Healing is a process; it is never an instant revealing. 

It is possible. We still have hope to survive. 

We must redeem our heritage if we are ever again to thrive. 

Penned – MG – 2/19/90

 
 

 

 

Wednesday’s Ode #16

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I absolutely love the state of Georgia!

   I moved to the state of Georgia almost 18 years ago, and I fell in love with it from the start. We first moved to a small town in the northeast side of the state, and we lived there for about three years. From there, we moved to almost South Georgia and then back to the northern part of the state over the next several years…sometimes, you can move a lot when you’re in ministry. Because our extended families live in various places outside the state, and because we love finding small towns to explore, we have traveled through almost the entire state. 

Truthfully, where we are now, in the northern part of Georgia, is probably our favorite; however, we’ve really loved each place we’ve been…We just love Georgia. We love the swamps near Waynesboro and the remote wilderness of the Cohutta. We love the coastal shores of Savannah and the rolling hills of Blue Ridge.  We love the bright lights, big city of Atlanta and the tiny country towns of Rutledge, Vidalia and Ball Ground. 

In no particular order, some of our favorite areas of the state are: Cloudland Canyon, Clayton, Hiawassee, Elijah, Big Canoe, Clarksville, Savannah, and Tybee Island. We love the waterfalls, hiking trails, and small town antique shops. We love to hike to the top of Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia, and take the stairs to the top of Amicalola Falls (about 600 steps from the base to the top!). We have spent time on the waters of the  Chatuge, Chattahoochee and Lake Lanier. We’ve perused the shops in the Mall of Georgia and Atlantic Station. We have taken the drives on the Richard B. Russell Parkway and “jeeped” the back roads into the Cohutta Wilderness. We’re constantly revisiting “old favorites” and trying to explore new adventures. 

  
I have written quite a bit about mountains lately in my Wednesday Odes, and I don’t want to be too redundant; so, you can read about a few more of our favorite places by reading one of my past Odes for the North Georgia Mountains. If you’re not from Georgia, or if you’ve not been here in a while, I invite you to come back for a visit! There’s just a little for everyone to enjoy! 🙂

  

Troubled America

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She was once such a lovely place to dwell;

Now, she is a reminder of everlasting hell.

She was once a place of freedom and peace; 

Now, she is a reminder of an angry beast.

 

I cry for this country and what she has come to be.

She will soon be a place that no one will want to see.

I pray that we open our eyes and see our ruined ways.

She will soon be a place of darkened, evil days.

 

Oh please, sweet America! Wake up and see your fate!

Open your eyes and do something now before it is too late!

Oh please, Sovereign Lord! Help us change what we have become.

Open our eyes and reveal the meaning of Your Only Son.

Penned – MG – 1/1/91

 

We Will Not Forget

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I don’t consider myself an incredible poet, but I wanted to have something to pay honor today to those who have given their lives for our freedom. Thank you to every service man and woman who gave your all so that I and my family might live in the freedom for which you fought so hard to obtain, and thank you to your families who have had to say the hard goodbyes. We are forever grateful, and we will never forget…

  

Young men with hopes and dreams

Old men with wives and little sunbeams

All head to war. To serve their land. 

To fight for their freedom. To save their fellow man. 

  

They fought hard. They fought brave. 

Some were wounded, captured, never saved. 

We will not forget them. We will not close the door. 

They gave us our freedom. We owe them so much more. 
  

  

Their graves are marked with flags so bright. 

Their memories held tight within our sight. 

They gave the ultimate sacrifice. They paid the highest price. 

Gave they their life that I might live. Reminds me of my God, my Christ. 

  

Let us not be so busy that we pack their memories away. 

Let us not be so focused on now that we miss their pathway. 

This is Memorial Day. The day we honor, we remember, and we say, Thank you. 

We will remember the heroes, for our lives are here because of what they went through. 

  

We promise to never forget what you gave up. 

What we have to offer can never really be enough. 

We will forever say Thank You to our heroes. 

We will fight to remember, hoping our debt and gratitude eternally shows. 
  

They fought hard. They fought brave. 

Some were wounded, captured, never saved. 

We will not forget them. We will not close the door. 

They gave us our freedom. We owe them so much more. 


Penned – MG – 5/23/15

Answer to Friday’s Angle #14

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Did you guess yesterday’s new angle? How’d you do??   

It’s a 3 wick, green candle! 😉 Hope you are enjoying these! See you next week!

     

Friday’s New Angle #14

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It’s Friday, and it’s time for another new angle! 🙂 

I hope you have fun with this, and remember, the answer will be posted this time tomorrow!  

  

My Deepest Me

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I heard a song the other day with this line in it: 

“You met me in my deepest Me… Grace met me there”

It made me ponder that thought for awhile
Me…that’s who I am. 
I’m not you. I’m not her. I’m definitely not him. 
I’m not that wife, that mom, that dr, or that waitress 
I’m not your mom (except JGrizz’s and JMan’s!), your sister or your aunt 
I’m just Me…that’s who I am. 

Me…it’s not always a pretty place 
Sure, I can paint on a pretty smile and fix my hair just right
I can put on a nice suit and pull myself together just the way I should 
I can say sweet words and shake hands and give you a great big hug if you need it

But I sure can snap at my kids early on a Sunday morning when I’m running late
I can battle thoughts of jealousy, selfishness and just plain rudeness sometimes. 
I can be unkind to my husband, envious of the times someone might need his attention when I really need to talk to him 
Me…can be a not so gracious place
Me…can be a deep, dark, sometimes even stinky place 

I can be grouchy. I can be angry. I can be rude, sharp and even hostile. 
I can be unkind, unreliable and unfriendly. 
I can even be lazy, forgetful and unforgiving. 
Me…it’s not always a place I enjoy to be. 
Me…it’s not always a person I like to see. 
But I have found, He always meets me in the deepest of Me
He always meets me in the deepest places where others won’t brave the approach 
He always surrounds me in the darkest moments of my soul when I wonder and doubt if He’s even there
He always consumes my heart to remind me that no matter what I’ve done He still cares. 

Because when I’m Me..
He can heal
He can restore
He can bind
He can refine
When I’m Me…
He can purify
He can cleanse
He can redeem
He can transform what is seen

You see, when I’m Me, My flesh is too much for my world to handle. 
This is not a good thing, as some would presume.
Because left to me, I will die. 
I will destroy and I will reek havoc on the lives I encounter. 
Yet, left to Him…
He can reach
He can save 
He can heal

 
He will never falter.