thankfulness

Applying Emotional Baggage Depilatory

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depilatory – a cream or lotion for removing unwanted hair

Removing excess emotional baggage can be cumbersome.
However, the process can be abbreviated with some well-applied wisdom…kinda like hair removal.
Sorta. Like if you squint one eye and look real hard…

This week, I made significant personal process in purging out some old mindsets, thought patterns, and behaviors. This advancement was accompanied by intentionally doing some new and unfamiliar activities. For instance, take my experience today of using a cream hair removal product for the first time in my life. A friend told me she recently used some on her elementary school-aged daughter’s underarms. I’d shaved my underarms since high school (thanks, show choir costumes), but I stopped a few years ago because of discomfort from bumps due to ingrown hairs (no doubt, my cheap, dull razors contributed to this quandary). Since I was recently blessed with some new sleeveless dresses by friends cleaning out their closets, I figured I’d test out the product, and picked up a bottle for less than $5 this afternoon.

I carefully read the directions before showering: Apply a thick layer of cream for 3 minutes. Do not leave on for longer than 10 minutes. Not for use on face. Wipe off gently with a rag and rinse. Do not rub. Got it.

While waiting for the product to work, I planned to roll my hair. But first, I washed my face, and then I determined to make sure to wash my hands thoroughly after applying the product to my underarms. I got downright tickled thinking, “Hmmm, if there’s product residue on my hands, I certainly don’t want to see a patch of hair on my head sliding off before Sunday Service!” So I washed my hands a second time just to be on the safe side (and avoid a replay of the Hot Pepper Hands incident). An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!

I proceeded to roll my hair without incident. Once I got into the shower, I followed the gentle wiping directions, and voilà, off slid my underarm hair! My underarms looked good upon closer inspection with my magnifying mirror. Only after the process did I learn of what creates the hair removal miracle: a strong and alkaline-based product is placed on the unwanted hair, and it processes hair into a jelly-like substance. I didn’t expect to have a science experiment in my shower, but I’m glad it was uneventful.

After a few online searches, I learned that epilation removes the entire hair at the follicle level (from the root), while hair is removed only to the surface with depilation, Which means, I’m gonna have to revisit any hair that grows back – or emotional baggage that lingers. I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. For the time being, I’m enjoying being a few clumps of hair lighter as I lay out my sleeveless dress for tomorrow – I can raise my arms without a second thought…no small forests here; the underbrush has been removed! Ironic that God had me try this new hair removal product as I was clearing out my emotional cache? No way! He is most strategic and intentional…by design. He knew this was gonna happen wayyyyy before I did (the hair removal AND the emotional baggage clean-up). #Grateful

“18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”
(Matthew 7:18-19)

© Copyright 2019 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Revisiting Composite

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I glanced back at my photo of the early spring tulips. When I was breathless and (nearly) speechless because of their beauty over a month ago, I wasn’t focusing of how many white flowers, purple flowers, or pink flowers were in the photo when I originally posted it. I looked at each part as a valued segment that contributed to creating a beautiful whole.

Fast-forward to today – why am I trying so intensely to dissect innumerable individual items from my personal history in an attempt to “get it all together?” Perhaps I imagine there’s a way for me to figure out how everything can be tied up neatly in a package with a pretty bow – but this is real life (comprised of family, friends, and strangers – and encompassing multifaceted people with a multiplicity of issues – so that’s probably an unreasonable, if not downright ludicrous, expectation). In essence, isn’t that the same as picking out and enumerating the number of white vs. purple vs. pink flowers – instead of just appreciating how the conglomeration comes together as a thing of aesthetic beauty?

A caring friend told me today to “work on being at peace.” At first, the OCD in me laughed as I mused, “Yep, WORK; something else to put on my To Do list, and when I accomplish it, I can check it off – whoo hoo!” But I get it. I need to be very diligent about pursuing peace (from the Prince of Peace, the only lasting Source) and allowing it to settle in my life. She also gently reminded me that “healing comes when you are just yourself” – and not trying to be a perfect version of who you think you should be. So that’s what I’m working on in this season amidst many distractions (but I guess if I already had peace, I wouldn’t have to pursue it…or maybe we have to be diligent to maintain it once it is obtained). How about you?

“10 For he who would love life and see good days,
Let him refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
(I Peter 3:10-12, NKJV)

© Copyright 2019 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Composite

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composite – a thing made up of various parts or elements; amalgamation, combination, compound, fusion, synthesis, mixture, blend, conglomeration, alloy, patchwork, hybrid

I took a walk today and snapped a few pics of pretty flowers. As I rested after my walk, I reviewed the photos, and saw one I’d taken of some tulips a month ago. When I zoomed in, I saw little things I’d never noticed when looking at the real scene with my naked eye – namely a torn leaf and several discolorations. However, I also marveled at the magnificent dewdrops sparkling on the colorful array of petals, and the inherent potential peeking through some yet-to-be-opened buds.

My takeaway? When things of beauty are in your space, don’t inspect them too closely – imperfections aren’t hard to find! Instead, appreciate the beauty of the composite picture life presents.

So I stepped back and savored the beauty of my entire walk – the birds swooping overhead (I noticed how high their nests of safety are situated), the happy rain droplets splattering my cheeks (threatening to cut my walk short, but delightful nonetheless), the sound of the rainwater rushing into the sanitary sewer (OK, in all honesty, THAT one actually triggered a thought of, “What if a sinkhole opened up in the neighborhood – how scary would that be?!”)…I had to zoom back out on that one.😏

Could it be that family is a composite – and to be appreciated as a thing of beauty? A great big ol’ mish-mash of related but definitely distinctive and distinguishable folks woven together by God’s design and for His glory? Yeah…I’m getting the picture…

“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”
(Psalm 27:4)

© Copyright 2019 by Kayren J. Cathcart

The Visit: Home – Returning to Center

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Well, today I return home to husband and children. It’s been an eye-opening and interesting visit with my parents; timely and necessary. Grateful to know that I don’t have to pick back up the burdens I laid down this week – wonderings about the past, present, and future. Rest and peace. My husband reports that the children have been doing exactly what I prepared them to do – without me hovering, so I will try to approach my interactions with them from a new perspective when I return.

I’ve always defined home as “where you find yourself; a mindset.” So if I’m leaving home to go home…what now? Home is in the heart. My journey continues.

“17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation,
and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;”
(Isaiah 32:17-18)

© Copyright 2019 by Kayren J. Cathcart

The Visit: The 13 Stairs – Obstacle or Tool of Ascent?

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I am acutely aware of the fact that my parents move at a different pace, rate, and speed now that they’re in their 70s. In spite of accumulating a few aches and pains to be expected from 7 decades on the planet, they’re both blessed with good health and they remain self-sufficient and able to live independently – for which we’re all grateful. Nevertheless, as someone who tracks steps on a Fitbit daily, I found myself listening during this visit to the way they approached their staircase.

The cadence was different from the spry steps exhibited a few years ago during my previous visits, and I wondered if their staircase was considered friend or foe. After they’d commit to the climb with a sigh or preparatory set of breaths, I heard the running start, the resigned climb, and the carefully accelerating descent. I see the “just in case” cane in the corner and the array of pain-relieving rubs just an arm’s length away from the comfy chair.

I do understand the impact of time on our bodies. However, to see it brought to life in front of my face was eye-opening.

“Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.”
(Psalm 18:36)

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.”
(Psalm 119:133)

© Copyright 2019 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Planning Gone Mad: The Vacation That Wasn’t

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Every parent has experienced that fleeting moment of fantasizing about what they’ll do when everyone else in their household is occupied and they get to hold in their hands the elusive concept of “free time.” I had scheduled the entire week after Thanksgiving for vacation away from work – last year, it looked like we’d use that time for a cruise to celebrate 18 years of marriage (“This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23). However, still recovering from our family’s summer vacation travels, we agreed for the sake of practicality that our planned getaway week as a couple would become a “staycation.”

Therein lies the rub.

I had NO PROBLEM in my mind with being away from work assignments on my desk and my regular routine of meetings, conference calls, and status updates. Unfortunately, someone forgot to inform my children that I was on vacation. There is no way of reconciling in my brain getting up for a parent/teacher conference before the sun was up…which meant I was awakened by my alarm clock…during the second day of my vacation. Definitely not my idea of vacation. That just didn’t make any sense to me.

Just like my child being behind on assignments and having a questionably less-than-stellar grade and saying everything was okay in that class (hello? reality check!) didn’t make sense to me. This junior Nancy Drew had to investigate…and what I found was not pretty. It kept me up late that night (of the same day I’d gotten up EARLY) coaching the child to completion of the late assignments so they could be turned in ASAP.

And I realized with a wan smile: That’s life. There’s no glossy brochure, 24-hour buffets, or smiling concierges waiting on you hand and foot. Life is about responding to needs in a timely manner. My child needed me and my husband…immediately. And we responded accordingly. Because life is real and vacation is fleeting and temporary.

What happened to the relaxation I thought I’d earned? Yeah, I’m still waiting on that! LOL

I was grateful that we were home and available to address the immediate needs requiring parental attention (it took a united front of me and my husband to help triage the child over this hump). Surely, coming home to foolishness would’ve blown whatever temporary high we’d received from sun, sand, gentle breeze, and ocean waves. Yet, my week didn’t go as I’d planned. It rarely (if ever) does. Because I’m not in control. I don’t know why I keep getting surprised by this unchanging fact. But as I mature, I realize that it really is better that I’m not in control – because God IS!

Regardless of the shenanigans and antics, I am thankful for my week of vacation. It was a series of days that the Lord made for me to rejoice and be glad in – no matter what situations or circumstances arose. I was surrounded by those I love for an extended time when I could focus on them – and that is a priceless gift that couldn’t be purchased on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or any day.

“This is the day which the Lord hath made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.”
(Psalm 118:24)

© Copyright 2018 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Now Serving…Beets With Gravy

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My first volunteer opportunity at our local Meals on Wheels program this week was very impactful. As I took my place on the assembly line to help fill 3-sectioned trays parading past me, I imagined being a recipient, not being able to choose what I’d eat that day (whether it was due to physical, financial, or other limitations), and rely on the kindness and generosity of my fellow community members. Veggie, protein, dessert. Cabbage, carrots, chicken with gravy. Two cookies, gelatin, and mushrooms with flecks of parsley. Combinations I wouldn’t necessarily choose, but provisions that someone in my community would be thankful to receive – this week.

Then I saw the bright purplish-magenta beets…covered in contrasting brown gravy. I stared for a few seconds at the concoction, then I snapped back to my assembly line role. I have never eaten (or seen, for that matter) that dish….ever. I have never seen it on Food Network or Cooking Channel. But this was going to become someone’s sustenance for the day.

I was overwhelmed with gratitude. And instantly humbled by the privilege of serving. I said a prayer over each scoop. I imagined the facial expressions of recipients when they saw either orange, green, or black cherry gelatin shimmying in its compartment of the heat-sealed tray. And I purposed in my heart to come back to volunteer with this organization again – bringing someone else with me. Where – or whom – can you serve today? Opportunities to serve others abound when we open our eyes and slow our pace long enough to really see our surroundings.

“34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
(Matthew 25:35-40)

© Copyright 2018 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Do YOU Have a Reliable Back-up?

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So now that I have a new phone, I mean, er, now that the princess has received her replacement phone…it’s time to begin the tedious process of manually reconstructing my Contacts list – phone numbers and e-mail addresses at a minimum. I have resigned myself to having lost all of the meticulously noted nuances in each entry, including tidbits like where and when I met folks, mailing addresses, etc. All of this could’ve been avoided if I wasn’t such a conspiracy theorist regarding aggregated data collection, didn’t have deep-seated but perhaps slightly unfounded apocalyptic suspicions surrounding  “the cloud,” etc. and had just backed up my data.

The helpful lady at the cell phone store reminded me of this. So did my husband and technology-progressive children. So did the man at the battery store where I went to see if the old phone’s warped, swollen battery could be recharged to hold a charge long enough for me to download the Smart Switch app so I could upload my data wirelessly to the new phone…after 30 minutes of charging the battery on his charger, I was at 50% and on a race against time. I was foiled by not having internet access…apparently since the old SIM card had been deactivated; so complicated.

Taunted by wistful thoughts of “why, oh why am I in this quandary of a predicament? if only I had saved it to The Cloud instead of my device, thinking it was more secure,” I remembered the flip side: that this is a way to have a fresh and clean start. Uncluttered and unencumbered by accumulation of years of data that – for the most part – I rarely accessed. As I sit in NC on the eve of Hurricane Florence approaching my community, I am reminded that Jesus is the most dependable back-up, and I must completely, totally, and wholly rely upon Him. Every day. No matter what. Because He is consistently faithful and never fails. Which is more than I can say for man’s technology…(sigh).

Praying that everyone affected by this hurricane season stays safe…feel free to e-mail me your contact info if you’d like to keep in touch. Stay blessed and encouraged!

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”
(Psalm 118:8)

“In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge.”
(Proverbs 14:26)

© Copyright 2018 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Living Beneath Your Privilege?

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princess-crown-vector-587966

It’s no fairy tale that we must build our spiritual muscles by trusting the Lord daily…

Once upon a (recent) time, there was a princess who had an S5 cell phone she’d kept for way too long. Her husband, the prince (who had upgraded to his S8 in a reasonable time frame of the warranty), had been telling her for over a year that she needed to get a new phone. But the princess (being the Most Frugal in all the kingdom), humbly decried his insistence as she was content with her old phone that was functioning quite well without the unnecessary bells and whistles, thank you very much, sir! Well, the day came (yesterday) when the princess could no longer plug the phone into its charger – the phone was warped beyond repair and the swollen battery (whoever heard of such?!) wouldn’t hold a charge (among other issues). In less time than it took to drive from work to the cell phone store, she became a textless princess…so sad…

Being the forward-thinking and savvy modern-day princess you’d expect, she came up with some potential alternatives to her quandary. Maybe she could pull out her old iPhone 4, recharge it (because of course the old charger was in her top drawer with all the other old stuff she just hadn’t let go of yet), and switch her current phone number back to that monstrosity of a contraption. The princess laughed out loud that it looked like a clunky crayon box (underneath its torn, outdated case that was barely holding on by a shred of rubber), but not being prideful, she recharged it, miraculously remembered the access code, and saw her last e-mails pop up…from 2014. That was not going to be a viable solution. Perhaps she could get one of those wireless charging pads…alas, a quick Google search confirmed that the old S5 phones were not compatible with that newfangled wireless charging technology. It looked like the princess would be forever relegated to communicating via tin cans and string…when all of a sudden…

The decisive, ever-ready, problem-solving prince drove his white horse to the cell phone store to save the day by doing recon for the erstwhile technology-deficient princess. At the prince’s instruction, the princess filed an insurance claim and was set to get a replacement phone shipped directly to her castle overnight…the same old S5 model. She was fine with that since she didn’t really want to change phones anyway, let alone pay to upgrade. However, since the phone was dead with no hope of resurrection, all the data she was trying to hold onto became eternally inaccessible in the blink of a battery-drained eye, and the princess had to be at peace with that – quickly. She wouldn’t get to transfer her contacts, photos, apps, or other precious information she held dear – they were all lost in the abysmal Moat of the Great Beyond.

When she got to her home computer (since she couldn’t read her e-mails from the hopelessly dead S5 phone), the princess saw the insurance claim was approved upon payment of her deductible AND she would receive an S7 phone (2 generations higher than the depreciating piece of junk she’d been pseudo-treasuring). How foolish she felt to have waited so long to receive, appreciate, embrace, and enjoy the gift her loving (and handsome!) prince had been trying to share with her all along! The princess had been living beneath her royal privilege, holding onto a counterfeit when the real thing was well within her reach; yea, it was her rightful inheritance.

At the time of this writing, the princess anticipates many moments of wonder and awe as she explores her new phone’s advanced technology and its expanded capacities beyond her wildest dreams. She looks forward to living happily ever after with the “right once again” prince after she purchases a new protective case to fit the blessing of the new cell phone she’d nearly missed out on.

Sound like anyone you know? Don’t pass up receiving the good things God has in store for you by leaning to your own understanding…I’d call to tell you about my personal testimony in that area, but I’m waiting for a phone delivery any moment now… 🙂

“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
(Psalm 34:8 KJV)

“8 O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who takes refuge in Him.
9 O [reverently] fear the Lord, you His saints (believers, holy ones);
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
10 The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry,
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.”
(Psalm 34:8-10 AMP)

“5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5-6)

© Copyright 2018 by Kayren J. Cathcart

Beauty in the Midst of Imperfection

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Life is a process and a cycle. Ever-changing and seldom static or predictable. Yesterday, I noticed a beautiful rose as I pulled out of the driveway heading to work. Today as I returned home, I noticed there were two roses in full bloom, and I ventured to step in the dirt for a closer inspection.

From the street, all I could see was the breathtakingly remarkable magnificence of the two flowers in bloom. However, a closer look revealed that there was one bud yet to bloom, and one that had bloomed and was now withered away. Taken as a whole, these flowers encompass the full cycle of life, death, and rebirth. I was reminded that if I keep the big picture in mind, I will focus more on the beauty that presents itself than on the imperfections that we never have to look hard to see.

May your day be filled with the beauty of His glorious splendor; expect to see it manifested in the most unexpected places!

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”
(Song of Solomon 2:1)

“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
(Isaiah 40:8)

“28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”
(Matthew 6:28-30)

© Copyright 2018 by Kayren J. Cathcart