Category: Uncategorized

A new world

If you hang around my Mom, you will hear her say, it’s a new world! She is amazed at all the new ways of doing things, from Artificial Intelligence to QR codes used for almost everything and signing into Netflix on your TV from your phone.

But this is a woman who, 71 years ago, really was on her way to experience a new world. As a 10-year-old girl, she walked onto a ship and ventured to America.

I wonder about many things as days come and days go….

My mind thinks in wondering….

For the last two days, I have often wondered about my Pake. Let me sidetrack for a quick definition lesson:

The Frisian grandmother is ‘beppe’ (bep-puh), and the grandfather is ‘pake’ (pah-kuh). In Friesland, you’d call your mom ‘mem’ and your dad ‘heit’ (height).

Yesterday was the anniversary of my Pake’s death. I was in fourth grade when he died. I wish I had had more time with him. I wonder much about his life and journey. I remember that he was a quiet man. I have heard that he was a good provider and worked hard. I consider him a risk-taker because today is the anniversary of their immigration departure. This picture was taken 71 years ago, just before they set out for America.

I wonder how it was for my Pake to set out from the land he knew to an unknown land…

I wonder how it was for my Beppe to say goodbye to her family (including two of their children) and trust her husband’s vision…

I wonder how it was for my Mom, my Uncles, and my Aunts to leave their friends, their school, and their neighborhood to board a ship that would take them to a new place where they didn’t understand the language, came face to face with a different culture and felt like strangers in a new land they now called home….

I wonder about so much….

I wonder what adventure you are being called to or convicted of today. Does it carry significant risks, and will it change your family story?

I have a favorite quote, and when I read it, I see Pake and Beppe’s faces….To discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.

Thank you, Pake and Beppe, for being willing to lose sight of the shore and demonstrating that trusting God can sometimes require significant risks but also bring great rewards over time!

The Maasdam ship then…and The Maasdam ship now….

Maybe a Holland American Cruise on the Maasdam is in order! 🙂

Happy 71st anniversary of your immigration day, leaving the Netherlands and heading towards a new world! ❤️ trish

Even versus odd

My blog is called Journey to My Heart. Sometimes, I write from the more vulnerable spaces within. Tonight is one of those blogs. I am a single hetrosexual woman. Being single in today’s world is complicated. I find that people often assume that being single must mean I am part of the queer community. If that is not true, then you must be divorced. I am not sure why I am single. I was open to marriage and dated here and there, but I am deeply content in my soul overall.

I have a very supportive family and an extraordinary faith community. I love my work and commit time to volunteering in spaces that bring positive outcomes to our community and/or culture. I am comfortable with myself and in my skin. It took some time to get there, and I marvel when I am home in the quiet space. Thank God for the gift of peace deep in my being!

Now that I am in my 50s, I have a question for those in pairs of 2: How often do you have an even number of people in your social groups? How frequently do you invite single people to mix with your married friends? Single people are single for all kinds of reasons. I know single parents and grandparents, people who are widowed or divorced or never married; we value intergenerational engagement and enjoy being included in social gatherings. I am not asking for social pity for single people. I am just noticing how often events are for groups of 4, 6, or 8, or round tables hold 6, 8, or 10. I wonder why we shy away from the odd numbers. Consider inviting 1 or 2 single people sometimes to your social outings with the different communities you are in. Thank you, friends, for considering!

❤️ trish

 

Texting or calling?

I find that often when I reach out to text someone, I think twice before instinctively moving in that direction. I am asking myself if a phone call would make more sense in this situation. Would a conversation be better than texting? I find so much more unfolds in a phone conversation than in a texting exchange.

Sometimes, it is still a text. More often than not, however, I realize that a call brings about many more good results for myself and, hopefully, for the person I speak with. I find that choosing a relationship and communicating a message is almost always a win-win!

I find that texting is quick, convenient, and an acceptable means of communication. However, even more important is choosing to call is choosing a connection. In today’s busy and crazy world, I want to nurture relationships every chance I can!

small steps or giant leaps?

105 Best Inspirational Quotes and Positive Sayings for 2024So often, the giant leaps get the attention and praise in our communities. I imagine we have all been caught up in the praise of the people who tend to leap! But what about the faithful ones who make the small steps of change daily?

Is there someone who comes to mind when you think about small steps that bring about lasting change? Have you been a faithful small-step change agent?

When I think of small-step change agents, I think of people who have developed self-discipline and put it into practice. I admire these people. I wonder what kind of person you are. I have learned to celebrate how I bring about lasting change, even if it is different from what is named here. But I have also learned to marvel at and appreciate those who bring about lasting change differently than I do. It is good to grow and find deep appreciation and gratitude for others. Take time to affirm someone today who is different from you. ❤️trish

 

Instructions for living a life:

PAY ATTENTION: The first was taught to us when we were children, but we did not all master it as children. In fact, I believe that in adult life, paying attention is a different task altogether. This is not about paying attention to completing something for someone else. This is about paying attention to notice or to be aware of what catches our senses or causes us to pause. This is about paying attention to the invitation to live life. This is an invitation to a unique and grand privilege and adventure.

BE ASTONISHED: I used to think that not much astonished me. Then I realized it was because I did not pay very close attention. When I began to be curious about things around me and pay closer attention, my astonishment grew exponentially. I stopped to watch an ant colony busy at work. I learned about my Mom’s moonflowers that bloom every evening, but each bloom lives only one evening. I paid attention to the daily healing of incisions following my knee replacement. So many things became truly astonishing when I stopped to pay attention.

TELL ABOUT IT: HOLLY LEBOWITZ ROSSI said this about Mary Oliver, “In her view, life was always awe-inspiring, but it was not always beautiful or easy.” The amazing thing is that Mary Oliver kept telling us about her living in poetry. We might do our telling in story or conversation, blogging or through journaling, music, or invitation to others to journey along with us, but living is about telling and sharing what you are noticing when you are paying attention and being astonished.

Go and live well my friends, live with a boldness to discover what is around you and share what astonishes you. For in your telling, you will also provoke others to want to live. ❤️ trish

 

The importance of the pause

I wish I could say I just do not understand what Stephen Covey is referring to here, but I totally get it. I get it because I have been that person who listens to reply instead of understand. I get it because I have also been conversing with people who did not seek to understand but felt it more important to be heard in their rapid reply.

To ensure I am a good listener and not a quick responder, I must practice daily discipline. I need to practice the PAUSE.  The pause gives me time to understand what has been shared and consider my words in response. It also allows my body language to communicate connection through eye contact and leaning in.

I hope to be a good listener in each conversation I engage in.

I hope to practice a thoughtful PAUSE that conveys connection and intention.

I hope to be a good responder in each conversation I share a response.

I hope you also practice this and are the receiver when you share your good thoughts and heart stories. ❤️ trish

 

Being kind to yourself

Today was a hard day. I am dealing with a pressure sore on my heel from being in the boot, and I struggled to maintain a good attitude for a part of the day. But as I took time to reflect, I was able to name that three weeks ago today, I had an excision of posterior heel spur, left Secondary Achilles tendon repair, left.

This process requires severing the Achilles, shaving the bone spur, debriding the tendon to healthy tissue, and anchoring the Achilles back into the heel bone.

When I read the context, three weeks doesn’t seem so long to have ups and downs. It brings perspective to me to be kind to myself and remember that healing takes time.

I wonder where you may need some grace for yourself. So often, we find grace for others easier than offering grace to ourselves. Perhaps today, you need to remind someone about being kind, or maybe you must be reminded to be kind to yourself. May we be generous with grace given and grace received. ❤️ trish

 

Sundays words for monday, tuesday, wednesday and so on…

Christian Symbols of Life and What They MeanToday at Church, we talked about Love. It was one of those messages I want to listen to again. There were words of invitation and words that felt like God was speaking them as a gentle reminder of his Word. Those are reassuring moments in my heart.

Today, our Pastor referenced a book I now have on order. Stranger God: Meeting Jesus in Disguise sounds like a book that will not only stretch our thinking but also our actions and invite us to change our beliefs and hearts. This book invites us to the importance of widening the circle of our affection. 

A partial description of the book is as follows: Psychological experiments show how we are predisposed to appreciate those who are similar to us and avoid those who are unlike us. The call of the gospel, however, is to override those impulses with compassion, to “widen the circle of our affection.” 

I love the words: widen the circle of our affection. It is easy to offer affection within our circles, but how to intentionally widen the circle to those different from us? Today, I have been considering where those who are different are. They are not as far as I first thought. I am starting with the spaces where I feel my body, mind, or heart pull away.

I also invite you to consider what it means to widen your circle of affection to those different from you. Let’s grow in this way together! ❤️ trish

If you want to listen to a great message, listen here!

 

 

Pivot and rhythm

I read this today, and the words pivot and rhythm caught my eye. Two weeks of recovery have given me time to consider my rhythms. With Spring coming, it feels like a good time to evaluate what is no longer working for me.

It is not anything significant that isn’t working; it is the smaller areas I am being called to pivot in and find new rhythms. Sometimes, life keeps going, our rhythms continue, and we don’t take time to pivot.

I invite you to consider your daily rhythms and consider what might need adjusting. Try pivoting, adjusting, and rekindling your rhythm! ❤️ Trish

 

Friends from all places

I have had the privilege of working alongside refugee families in refugee resettlement. These families, now dear friends, have profoundly enriched my life. They have established a solid way of life and future.  No matter what country they come from, everyone has confronted is learning English! Their journey has not been simple, but they have struggled well, grieved what they have lost, and are grateful for what they now have. They are true heroes!