Tag: #purposefullife

Reaping What We Sow

Posted on by mrsmonarch

It was the summer of 2019. 

Invitations for my summer 💐 garden party 🎉 had gone out weeks before. Friends were coming from far and wide to hang out, sample yummy food 🥪, sip lemonade 🍋 and share in light-hearted laughter and quality fellowship. It was an annual tradition; something we all looked forward to.

The problem was– The house was on the market and, unbeknown to the invited guests, we had just received a solid contract. The buyer had asked for immediate possession, so we had already packed most everything we owned.

I wasn’t even going to have furniture for anyone to sit on! I looked around my empty living room and let out a big sigh. Who invites people to their home when they don’t even have chairs for them to sit in?! The prospect of being thought of as a bad hostess was admittedly uncomfortable, but I decided to open the doors of our home anyway. After all, it was about the fellowship, not the stuff, right??!  It was time to loosen up & practice what I’d preached.

And they came. From miles and miles and miles away, they came. Each brought the customary “entrance fee”— plant babies from her garden to share with the other guests as parting gifts. Every lady brought something to contribute to the plant exchange and each left with a sprig of something different. We were eagerly sharing what we had with one another. The plants we exchanged would grow in our own little gardens and be a faithful reminder of the sweet times of fellowship we had all shared together. We referred to the plants we shared as founding members of our “Friendship Gardens”. We all had a delightful time that afternoon!

Most of the guests had already taken their party favors and said their goodbyes, but one lady offered to stay a bit and help me clean up. As we were chatting, she asked me if it was going to be hard to leave the garden and all of my beautiful flowers after pouring so much time and energy into them.

I paused and allowed a sigh to escape my lips. “Yes… Leaving is always hard,” I said. “The thing I will miss the most are my climbing roses 🌹 They are an antique and very prolific variety that smell sweeter than anything I’ve ever smelled. Yes, I will miss them terribly”.

And that’s when she asked if she could dig up a few shoots from the base of the bigger bushes. I gave her my blessing and she tenderly dug up a few of the babies, wrapped them in a wet paper towel, hugged me and wished me well on my new adventure. It was a bittersweet moment. I was glad she would be blessed by them, but it was admittedly hard to see them go.

Fast forward 6 long years. Another house, in another state, is once again on the market. I have found myself wandering through another beautiful flower garden that will eventually be left behind for someone else to enjoy. I’m usually a very upbeat person, but I must admit … Today– I was tired. Physically tired. Emotionally tired. Spiritually tired. Tired of moving. Tired of investing … Tired of pulling up roots and most of all, tired of losing the things I’ve invested so much of my heart in.

And then it happened. My phone buzzed. It was a text from that precious friend. Totally out of the blue, she had chosen today to send me pictures of the tiny little rose sprigs she’d dug out of my garden so many years ago. They are HUGE now and filled with hundreds upon hundreds of the most incredibly gorgeous blooms!!

It’s been a long time since that day when she asked to dig them up. The twinge of sadness has long since lifted. I smiled as I read her text and told myself how happy I was that she had asked to take them. She was a worthy recipient, for sure.

But then, I got to the last couple of sentences in her message. A smile crossed my face. She wasn’t texting to brag on her green thumb. She wanted me to know that those babies have had babies… And she’s dug up a couple for me, so that I will have something to plant in my new garden after this next move is behind me. She told me that had always been her plan—she was just waiting for them to grow and for me to get settled!

I was flabbergasted!! Oh how it lightened my heart! The roses? Well I guess in time, they could have been replaced. But roses dug up by a thoughtful friend who fostered them and showered them with love for years? WOW! Talk about ‘holding space’ for a friend! I can’t fathom a more meaningful gift.

Suddenly, something hit me. We can’t out give God. What we give away, finds its way back to us– oftentimes with interest. He knows what’s important to us. He knows our needs, our desires, our wildest hopes and dreams. Nothing is too big— or too small— to go unnoticed. We truly do reap what we sow. Today, I’m grateful I’ve sown both friendship and roses!

Until Next Time,

A Lady Under Construction

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Hello dear One!

Thanks for stopping by. It’s good to see you again!

I want to start by saying that a lot has happened in my personal life since 2025 started and I figured this was as good a time as any to catch you up. On January 20th, while the majority of Americans were rejoicing the changing of the guard on our political scene, I was receiving the news that my momma passed away, unexpectedly. It all happened very quickly. I live out of state and there was no time to get there before she passed.

Now, we all know that death is inevitable. And I have lived long enough to have watched a number of my friends walk through the loss of one– or even both– of their parents. My head knew this would happen one day; but– the thing is? My head apparently never told my heart! For some insanely crazy reason that I can not begin to explain, my heart was completely shocked by the news.

I still haven’t come to terms with it.  I know this will sound absolutely bonkers because we each realize that death is something we will all have to eventually deal with. But for some reason, my heart just keeps screaming, “That’s other peoples’ moms! Not MY mom! My mom can’t die!”

And then my head steps back in and says, “Hey– not only can she die, she DID die!”

Even worse?  A hundred times a day, for no particular reason, my head decides to give my heart a reality check! “You ain’t got a momma any more!”, it quips. Each time the haunting words make me struggle to catch my breath. It’s almost like two siblings, living under the same roof, who can’t get along! It’s all been quite odd and has sent me into a bit of an emotional tailspin.

My mom and I had a number of unresolved issues between us. Now? I’m going to have to work through those alone, with the memory that she loved me dearly but the realization that we couldn’t reach restoration in this life time. It’s a bittersweet reality.

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My writing is going to be impacted by the loss. There were already a dozen facets of my life that I’d intentionally placed under construction. I have identified patterns of behavior in my life that don’t line up with who I want to be in this season of life, so I’m cleaning house and doing a considerable amount of remodeling. I’ve been reading, writing, and studying furiously. Change is never easy but not changing is spiritually and emotionally deadly, so I am continuing to push through towards a vision that, although not completely clear yet, promises to be lighter, brighter and more aligned with my purpose.

It’s a new arena for me. I’ve never really been one to enjoy change. In the past, I’ve tended to cling to the old, comfortable, ill-fitted situations where I knew what to expect and what was expected of me rather than forging ahead into scary, new territory. But that was the old me. New me is still uncomfortable, but she has determined that she will press forward anyway.

I will make some wrong turns along the way, I suppose. But I won’t beat myself up about that. I have promised myself that I will embrace every aspect of the journey with the understanding that it takes both the ‘good’ and the ‘not so good’, the ‘gentle’ and the ‘harsh’ to propel us where we need to be. After all, a diamond isn’t forged in gentle waters.

I hope you will stick around and cheer for me as I break down the fears, insecurities and challenges which have been stumbling blocks in the past. I would certainly appreciate having cheerleaders as I push onward towards the finish line of life. For my part, I promise that I will continue to show up here— in spite of all my flaws and short comings— offering encouragement and hope to everyone who’s path I cross.

Until Next Time,

Tenacity Is My Goal

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Well Hello Friend!

Happy New Year to you and your household!

At the beginning of each Gregorian calendar year, I prayerfully choose a word which has the qualities I’m striving to attain. This year that word is “Tenacity”. What is it about that word that appeals to me? Well…. quite honestly… nothing— in the flesh. LOL. The word actually sounds like struggle and hard work at this moment in my life. But maturity is recognizing that you might need to work on something— even if it isn’t a fluffy, feel-good experience. And I’m trying to be mature enough to choose what I know I need more of. Hence: Tenacity. 🙂

You see, it’s easy to move forward towards your mission when the path is obvious and the road is clear. When your social media posts get thousands of “likes” and “shares” and you have an audience of eager cheerleaders singing your praises. Those kinds of things encourage a person, right? Ah— but motivating yourself to get up and do the hard things can be much more challenging if you have developed a pattern of tying external validation to the value of your mission.

We need to ask ourselves: Do we really want to be vulnerable to the whims of human emotion and AI algorithms? Should our world come crashing down if our husband, friends, family or social media pages aren’t ecstatic with praise for our contributions? What happens when we wake up one morning and the likes and praise are simply not there?

How do you persevere then? Where does the energy, the strength, the courage come from when our external validation dries up and withers away? That’s an important question because we are all going to experience seasons in our life when our outside support systems fail us! Family crisis occur. Friends move away. People get distracted by their own personal issues. Relationship statuses change. How do we keep moving forward when we find ourselves in a dry season, with few external sources of validation and encouragement? 

Well my friend, it comes from Tenacity.

Tenacity is the determination to press forward— even without likes or shares or words of affirmation. It is pushing forward, fueled by the KNOWING that you were created for this purpose and as long as you keep at it, you WILL attain success. It is the conviction that our purpose in this life time will eventually be fulfilled! Not necessarily because humanity has embraced and rewarded us, but because we were faithful to the calling placed upon our lives! 

Such a drive can not be thwarted by lack of cheerleading because its source never came from there to begin with! It is based instead on the unshakeable confidence that the Creator Himself called us forth from the darkness and placed a mission in our spirit. It allows us to move forward with courage— understanding that the World’s opinion of our efforts is meaningless. They can not deem us a failure OR a success— because the mission didn’t originate from them.

And that is the kind of stamina I am after this year! I am yearning for something deeper than I currently have! I don’t want to be distracted by my sales reports on Amazon or by the numbers of followers I have on social media. I don’t want to feel like I’m going to shrivel up and die if my husband doesn’t notice what I’ve done around the house today. I don’t want to spiral into depression because my social network doesn’t always agree with my opinions. Those things aren’t ‘bad” to have but they are not true indications of the spiritual impact of my life, and they aren’t indications of your impact, either!

If the Creator of the Universe has tapped us on the shoulder and invited us to rise up and accomplish a task— is it not clear that He would instill everything we need to accomplish it? When we give in to fear and doubt, it really isn’t us we are questioning. The hard, cold truth is— it shows our distrust in our Creator. We doubt because we can’t fathom that He would choose to use us-— piddly, imperfect, frail humans with our messy little lives. But Dear One, that’s exactly WHY He chooses us! And if we place our focus on just staying the course and being faithful with what He has given us to do, we will eventually make it to the finish line—successful in every way that counts!

That’s why I’ve chosen Tenacity as my word for 2025. I’m a long way from attaining it, but it’s an inspiring goal. What word inspires you to do better this year? Please feel free to comment here— or find me on line. I’d love to hear from you.

Until Next Time, 

A Life Well Lived

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Today as I was having my morning coffee and watching the squirrels rob my bird feeders, I was startled by a loud “Thud” at my sliding glass doors. I looked out the door and was grieved to see this beautiful young cardinal flopping around on the patio below. 

Birds have hit the glass before. Usually, they sit –stunned— for a few seconds, gather their composure, and fly away unscathed. But … not this time. This sweet little girl had clearly hit too hard… too fast… or in a way which did damage beyond what my eyes could visibly see.

I ran outside, gently scooped her up and tried to assess the damage. Her little body went limp in my hands. She was still breathing but there was absolutely nothing I could do to “fix” her. So, I did the only thing I could think to do. I sat down on the steps of the patio and gently ran my fingers across her soft feathers while I told her how beautiful she was.

I kept hoping that the situation wasn’t as dire as it seemed—- that she’d ‘wake up’, gather her strength and flutter away, the way I’d seen so many other birds do. But that didn’t happen this time. After a few minutes, she sighed her last breath and was gone.

Her body was warm; a stark difference from the frigid morning air which surrounded us. I continued to hold her for a few minutes, stroking her feathers and appreciating the intricate details of her body. She had been strong enough to live and fly during a Missouri winter. Yet looking at her lifeless little body, it was clear that she was also shockingly fragile. One wrong move and her life had been cut short.

So many encouraging analogies have come from my garden. But today, instead of joy, it brought a tinge of sadness. It brought an unwelcome admonition; a reminder of how harsh and fragile life can be. It smacked me in the face — I am mortal. I am limited —both in the days of my life AND in the power I hold. Most things are outside of my control, regardless of how desperately I wish that were different. I can’t fix everything. In fact, I can’t even “fix” most things.

But you know what? In spite of my humanity and all my many short comings, I can choose to remain kind. I can choose to remain empathetic. I can choose to offer a helping hand where it’s needed. I can choose to provide both comfort and kindness where it’s needed. And in spite of how fragile and short life is, those choices can make me— or any of us, for that matter— incredibly powerful!

It might not feel like much during a moment of sadness— but being impactful is my definition of a life well lived. What about you?

 

Until Next Time,

 

Standing in the Gap

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Dear Ones,

This was first published on my website Nov.11, 2021. As I was looking through old material, this one jumped out at me. It seemed to be screaming to be resent. I don’t normally do that, but I’m being prodded intently so— this one’s for YOU. The dearly loved child of the Most High who is struggling to find her purpose and strength today.  Much love, ~Ledonna

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This is Pearl, aka “Good Baby”. She is the “other woman” in my husband’s life. 😉

He claims she is some special breed of dog called a “Staffordshire Terrier”…

Hmmph. But ***I*** call her a “Holy Terror”! LOL.

Every morning, this dog stands at the back door… literally SHAKING like she’s undergoing detox… waiting, not-so-patiently, for my husband to open the door and let her go on her morning run.

The reason she is so anxious to get out the door is that there is the cutest little chipmunk who lives under a giant forsythia bush by the driveway. This adorable little fella spends the majority of his morning running back and forth from his burrow under that bush, across our driveway, under a storage shed, into the great beyond—and back!

I have no idea why he didn’t just make his home closer to what ever it is he fetches each morning… But whatever the reason, he faithfully makes a journey of about 150′— each way— every single morning and again—just about dusk every afternoon.

His journey is perilous!!! He instinctively knows that dog is out there, waiting for him so he wisely breaks the journey up in to short segments, like the swat teams do in movies when they are trying to avoid detection from the bad guys. He runs from the bush, to my car and waits while he catches his breath. If the coast looks clear, a few seconds later, he will dart out from under the car and head to the storage shed on the other side of the driveway.

Pearl either knows his routine or she can smell him from inside the house! The second that door flings open, she goes flying outside, tail wagging, ears flapping and nose to the ground in a frantic but systematic search to flush him out. There have been days when she has only missed him by inches!! I’ve watched this scenario unfold so many times from the porch.

Of course, I’m always cheering for the chipmunk! (Yes, I’m on “his” side— even tho the little rascal wrecks havoc on the flower bulbs I plant each year.)

Maybe it’s because most days I feel like that little chipmunk!! LOL. I relate to him! I know first hand what it’s like to be going about life; list in hand— rushing through my day, gathering supplies, feeding my family, taking care of business. And I also know what it feels like to have the enemy hot on my tail, chasing me around, waiting for me to make one wrong move so he can devour me!!

Yep! I get it! That’s undoubtedly why I always cheer for the little chipmunk! 🙂 I see him scurrying around—minding his own business and doing his thing— and then, I see this 100 pound hound dog come out of no where, in hot pursuit, with nothing on her mind but his demise. And for me? That experience immediately registers as a spiritual analogy! That’s just how I roll!! LOL. As I watch this scenario unfold every day, I see myself and my own struggles. I see myself trying to just stay ALIVE— while the devil is hot on my tail, doing everything he can to take me down.

PLEASE tell me I’m not the only one who can relate to this???! 😉

I mean… I’m sorry. Forgive me. It’s not that I WANT you to feel like this!! I just don’t want to be the ONLY one who feels like this!!

But I’ll be honest. I feel this way—more often than not. And because so many of you have come out and been openly transparent right back, I know a lot of you feel this way, too.

I can’t really help the chipmunk. Well… that’s not true. I have started cracking the back door and shouting, “RUN LITTLE CHIPMUNK!!! RUN!” before my husband lets the dog out each morning!! HAHAHA!! (Seriously­– I DO THAT!) It doesn’t enable the little chipmunk to run any faster, but it does at least give him a 10 second head start, and some days, that has been the difference between life and death for him. I’m pretty confident he’s grateful!

Okay, so that works for a silly chipmunk. But what can we believers do, as we experience our own set of frantic close calls with the enemy?

Well—for starters, we can commit to be the “Gate-Keepers” and “Watchmen on the Wall” for one another! An Intercessor! Kind of like I am doing when I crack the door open and make that announcement just prior to letting the dog out.

We need to be reminding one another to stay alert and to be diligent because the enemy is real and he IS out there—looking for an opportunity to take us down.

The Word of God puts it this way:

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (-Ephesians 6:18 NLT)

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NLT)

Friends— did you catch that? Both verses clearly tell us that we aren’t going through anything unique. The hurts, challenges, difficulties, fears, stumbling blocks, insurmountable looking situations that you’re facing?? Believers all over the world are struggling in similar ways. And we are told to be earnestly and persistently praying for them!!

Our Heavenly Father wouldn’t tell us to do something unless it was important! My friends, I have become convinced that there are days when our personal prayers are the ONLY thing standing in the gap between a struggling loved one and Satan himself!

I was prodded to read through Ezekiel 22. The chapter shares Yahweh Almighty’s frustration with the sins of Jerusalem. It’s hard to read that chapter and not recognize my own country’s terrible sins— but the really tough part came when I got to verses 29 and 30.

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone … so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I FOUND NO ONE.” (Eze 22:30 NLT)

Guys—that broke me! I mean… it reduced me to heaping, sobbing tears! The thought that the Almighty God—KING OF THE UNIVERSE—would care enough to stop what He was doing and search for someone—-ANY ONE— who would stand in the gap for others——-and not just those who are having a “hard time”— but for those who were facing utter and complete destruction—– and He could find NO ONE who would answer the call????!

Something happened in me. Something… snapped! I can’t really explain it. But suddenly, I didn’t feel beaten down; exhausted; over whelmed; or “too busy”. The thought that He was searching for someone—any one— who was willing to DO something… and realizing that the people He was searching for would actually have made a difference…. and STILL no one could be found??! whew…..

It’s made me cry out, “PICK ME, Father! I’LL DO IT!! I’LL STAND UP!! I will encourage others! I will warn others! I will pray, plead, beg and cry out for others!! I WANT YOUR HEART! Your passion! I want Your LOVE for others that will propel me to pray on an entirely new level than anything I’ve experienced before!! YES DADDY!! I will write… and ask for You to set the hearts of your people on FIRE so that they will be provoked to stand up, TOO! Yes, Father! I WILL STAND!”

So… HERE I AM!!! Using everything I have— including a lame analogy about an ol’ hound dog chasing a stupid chipmunk— to provoke you to STAND!!! It’s what YHWH Almighty wants His children to do!

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

How do we “share each other’s burdens”? We start by saying, “Yes Father! I WILL STAND! I will stand in the gap and pray for others so that the thick fog they are living in will lift and they will have a chance of finding you!”

If you’re weak, tired, fearful, lonely? STAND UP!! Throw off the selfishness; the self-pity and despair and come to terms with the reality that a dying world needs your faithful prayers!! Decide (that means CHOOSE!) to Stand in the Gap!

If you’re beaten down, frustrated, angry at the way things in this world are going? STAND UP and say “YES FATHER!! I WILL STAND IN THE GAP! I ask for You to take all of my agony and do something useful with it!! Help me, Father so I can pray with passion, energy and useful determination! Yes God! I will Stand!”

Friends— if you are 80 years old, holding on to your oxygen tank, barely able to stand on your own two feet without help— you can still answer this call and cry out, “FATHER I WILL STAND— Spiritually, I will stand! I will pray with great faith and fervor! I will commit to making a difference!! I WILL STAND IN THE GAP AND FIGHT FOR MY FAMILY… FOR OTHER BELIEVERS AROUND THE WORLD… AND FOR THE LOST AND DYING WHO CURRENTLY HAVE NO HOPE!!”

Being a prayer-warring intercessor really can change the course of eternity, folks! And it all starts with saying, “Yes Father! I will STAND!”

Until Next Time,