Oops, I did it again!

Learning the hard way appears to be the method God has chosen for me ... probably because of an overabundance of stubbornness that flows through my veins (intermingled with coffee).

I've always been a "people pleaser", which is not a bad thing ... until someone decides to take advantage of the situation, demanding more and more. It is a vicious cycle  ...  Realizing I'm being used, backing off, then ending right back where I started ... falling prey to the guilt trips and drama.

I thought I had this certain aspect of my life under control, but evidently I had a blind spot and recently had the rug ripped from under me ... and I fell hard.  Oh yes, I was warned.  God sent subtle hints (that sick feeling in my stomach, nagging doubts), but did I listen?  Heck no....and I suffered the consequences, all self-inflicted:  Sadness, guilt, anger, hurt ... and it wasn't limited to me.  Yep, I like company in my misery.  Of course I didn't lash out, I did what I always do ... isolate ...  leaving God, my family and friends in limbo and neglecting my responsibilities, that in turn added more misery.

This incident was one of those temporary setbacks in my faith journey.  Once again, I thought I knew more than God, which I'm sure made Him laugh.  I am so grateful for His love and understanding and for blessing me with the humility to eventually reach out, not just to Him but to those close to me.  I was able to finally let go of the source of pain and return to the land of the living, hopefully, a little more wise.

 

The Journey Begins

The original plan was to pull out at 4:00 a.m., on April 3^rd but excitement won out and we left after Michael came home from work on the 2nd. We had to suffer through traffic gridlock in Los Angeles, which took forever to get through.  Having a tad bit of a “lead foot”, driving at 10 miles per hour was definitely frustrating which resulted in increased teeth grinding.  After an hour and a half, we finally reached cruising speed and made it to a little place called Buttonwillow before calling it a night.  The next morning we drove through farmlands of the San Joaquin Valley.  The blue skies against the peaceful green fields had an incredibly calming effect after driving through L.A. traffic!  We arrived in Willows, California early afternoon.  

 



Sunset in Buttonwillow
 

San Joaquin Valley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We could have traveled further, but this was an opportunity for me to meet Anne Baxter Campbell, a fellow author at Helping Hands Press.  We became friends on Facebook through our publisher; however, we had never met in person.  Anne graciously arranged a book signing at a local eatery while we simultaneously appeared on the G-Zone blogtalk radio show (Click to listen).  Prior to the "event", we met for coffee at Starbucks (yes, Starbucks is everywhere!).  It amazed me as to how much we had in common and it felt like we'd known each other for years. We had a terrific time chatting it up on the radio and topped it off with a tasty dinner.  What a blessing it was to spend time with Anne.  She's an inspiration for a "rookie" author like me.

THE SIGN ON THE RESTAURANT DOOR:



Friends!!!