All posts by Carolyn Barrett

Freedom

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Freedom. It wasn’t something we had to think about when we were young. Freedom was playing with your friends down the street and being home in time for dinner. Free to play. Free to just be.

We learned in school what freedom meant in terms of our country. July 4th. Independence Day. A celebration of what we gained from those who went before us. Fireworks. A free nation. Under God. Indivisible. With liberty and justice for all.

As the years went on, freedom became something different. More like a representation of what we didn’t have. Responsibilities now weighed us down, and stole our “free” time away. You couldn’t just play anymore. You couldn’t just be. Schedules took over. Lives became busy. Too busy. Nobody thought much about what freedom meant. Until it was taken away.

Now the threat looms. Those who would choose to steal our freedom are in the background, planning their next attack.  It’s scary. It’s real. It’s too close for comfort. Continue reading Freedom →

Up The Ladder

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At the lake, my husband contemplated a jump off of the high dive. He hadn’t done this in many years. “I’ll wait until the line is shorter,” he declared. I thought he was just stalling.

One after the other a group of teenagers climbed up the ladder and went off into the water, never missing a beat, or their chance to perform in front of the others. It was fun to watch the energy of their youthful antics.

As we looked on, a young boy slowly made his way to the ladder. He stepped up, then stopped. Gingerly, he reached his hands up a bit higher and stepped up to the next rung. He stopped again. His father came up to the ladder and prompted him to continue. Continue reading Up The Ladder →

Change Is Good

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“Change is good.” A radiologist I’d worked with for many years said this to me. He even scribbled it in the group card handed to me at a farewell party.  I wasn’t feeling that way. I was leaving my job of nine years and moving on to a new one. It was a choice I had to make, not one that I welcomed. Going through a divorce, I simply needed more money.

I’d also injured my back that year. Change is good? I didn’t think so. In fact, I had the main risk factors for a heart attack: a change in health, marital status and employment. I felt as if my life were sinking to a new low. Tough times were behind and ahead, and I was unsure if I would make it through.

Change is good? I wanted to shout at the doctor instead, NO. Life is hard!

Back in 7th grade sociology, I remember learning that people are resistant to change. “But we’ve always done it this way” was a phrase often used.

Change is difficult. Some welcome it. I did not. A whole new world awaited me. I wanted the safety of the old one. Even if it wasn’t ideal, even though there were way too many struggles and difficulties, as least I could depend on what it was. There were no surprises. I’d become accustomed to my miserable existence.

As I began my new job as an agency tech, I realized unless I turned to the Lord for help, I simply wasn’t going to make it. My own strength was not going to be enough. I felt weak, lost and alone, yet I was expected to work fast, accurately and confidently.

During my nearly one hour drive to work each day, I turned to my Christian music cds to inspire and energize me. I listened. I sang along. I prayed. My prayers were simple. I didn’t ask for much, just the strength for the day at hand.  “Lord, just help me through this day.”

As I entered the doors of each hospital I was assigned to, I stood up straight, held my head up high, and spoke with the confidence I wasn’t feeling. As time went on, I began to feel the sureness in my abilities that I was outwardly displaying in my corner of the world.

Although my time with the agency was not quite a year, I can say it was time well spent. I look back at it now, and see how much I grew. I went from a person afraid of her own shadow, to the confident worker I wanted to be. I could do anything I set my mind to.

But I didn’t do this on my own. The Lord was with me every step of the way. I prayed heading in to work each day, and I thanked him at the end as I headed back to my car.

Is change good? At the time, it may not seem that way. Ultimately, it can work for your benefit.

Trust the journey. Be open to the growth that can come. But first and foremost, trust your God to be with you. Turn to Him for the strength and help you need. He’ll be there for you. I know.

-Carolyn

“Life isn’t easy. Together we can make it better.”

 

Road Rage!?

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Does this picture make you tense up? I don’t know anyone who likes to be caught in traffic. It happened to me last week, after a storm sent power lines down onto a major highway, causing a jam-up on the surrounding roads. It took almost two hours to go a total distance of three and a half miles.  Over one hour of that was spent on a short stretch. Ugh. Patience was at a premium.

As I finally approached the last traffic light taking me to freedom, a large white pickup truck appeared in the left-turn-only lane, passing everyone and cutting in at the front of the line. I said out loud, “Yeah, you just go ahead and cut in there pal, that’s just great. Thanks a lot, now I’ve got to wait for another light”.

Do you talk to yourself when driving? I do this frequently. Here are some examples of situations and what I might say. Can you relate?

Someone pulls out in front of my vehicle when there’s nobody behind me, then goes slow, forcing me to brake.
Me: “Oh, now, that’s just great, thanks a lot. You just couldn’t wait for me to pass, could you?”

I get to a four-way stop first, but another vehicle barely pauses and continues on through the intersection.
Me: “Way to stop pal, yeah, that’s right, you’re more important than me, you just go on and go first.”

I’m trying to switch lanes, blinker on, there’s an opening, the next driver in that lane decides to speed up so I can’t get in.
Me: “Are you kidding me? You couldn’t let me in?  What a jerk.”

The person in front of me suddenly brakes and turns without warning.
Me: “Great! Way to use a turn signal. Idiot.”

Ok, these are mild examples. I have been known to swear on occasion, especially if someone cuts me off when I have the kids in the car. Oops, did I say with the kids in the car? For the record, I do apologize to them. But hey, a mama bear’s instinct is to protect her cubs.

Years ago, I was involved in a road rage incident. To this day I can barely speak about it, as the terror of the moment shakes me up all over again. Suffice it to say, I thought we were going to be shot. And it wasn’t even provoked, more like a misinterpretation of what happened by a person obviously filled with rage. These types of incidents happen all too often. No doubt you’ve seen some pretty awful reports in the news.

Nobody should get so charged up over these things that they cause harm to another person.

A while back, as I was making yet another comment out loud in the car, I said to the kids, “You know what, from now on instead of complaining out loud, I’m going to say a prayer for that person”.  And guess what? That lasted one day in a row.

Old habits die hard, don’t they? I still think it’s a great idea, and a way to calm yourself, and do something positive at the same time. So I am trying to make a better effort  to do it again. Now that I’m getting in the habit of praying for crazy drivers who make me nuts, it’s evolved into praying for other people I see along the way. A crossing guard we pass every day who appears to be in pain. An elderly person who seems to be struggling just to walk. A mom with a handicapped child. You get the picture.

Life is so much better when you turn a negative into a positive.  Will you join me in this endeavor?

Have a great weekend and stay safe-

Carolyn

“Life isn’t easy. Together we can make it better.”