Wonderful, wonderful words, Holly. Your encounter with Ms Mary has made me beam from ear to ear AND given me goosepimples, and THESE words about the dance team are everything:
"I told her the only payment required was to work hard on their routine and go make our county proud."
Holly, you do YOURSELF proud, and inspire me with every word you write. Thank you.
I love this post, and the happy ending that can now replace an old memory of mine. Years ago when I was probably in my 20's, my friend and I were on our way somewhere, who knows where now. It was raining out, and we spied an older woman hitchhiking in the rain. Of course, we stopped. Who passes up and elderly woman in the rain hitchhiking? She climbed in the backseat and we headed off to lower Millbrae, about a ten minute drive from where we were. In that ten minutes, the woman began to make comments that made both of us very concerned-- perhaps we had made a mistake. Seriously, I thought maybe she'd pull out a gun and shoot us. My girlfriend maintained her calm demeanor and drove to the nearest spot possible to pull over, and then with a friendly voice said, "okay, this is as far as we are going." The woman balked a bit, made a few off remarks, but eventually got out of the car. We silly girls laughed at everything back in the day, so we took a deep breath of relief, and then began laughing hysterically. Who knows now if we were just being ridiculous young gals, over-reacting, but I still don't think so. I love that you helped Ms. Mary, and especially that there was a happy ending to your story! 💟
Believe me--I’ve had my fair share of moments when I knew the right thing to do was run the other direction!🤣 I trust my intuition and wisdom. I don’t pick up all people who need a ride!
It's so lovely to hear how much good you are doing in your part of the world! (Not to mention everything you do here). I'm so inspired. Things like this don't happen often in Brooklyn--actually, my grandmother spent part of her childhood in the neighborhood I live in, and I'm 99% sure no who lives here now knew her.
I admit that I experience life much differently here in rural America than so many who live in cities. But that’s part of why we moved here--I was tired of living in a subdivision where I knew none of my neighbors. Life in community feels so good and inspires me daily!
Reading your newsletter makes me realize that I don't know much of anyone in my community. I'm a dedicated introvert a lot of the time, and I wonder if that results in me missing out on these important, touching moments.
I’ve been having this conversation a lot lately as a family member seems to be in great mental decline due to her refusal to get out in the world and socialize a bit. I’m not saying that is the only contributing factor, but a big one. Even though people label me as an extrovert, I have days when I want nothing more than to be shut up in my house with all my comfortable things and my thoughts.
Getting out there is uncomfortable. Even extroverts want to control their social environments, right? We want to rub elbows with people who think like us. We want to hang out with people who look like us. So I don’t necessarily think it’s about being introverted so much as any of us challenging ourselves to be uncomfortable sometimes.
One of my most uncomfortable seasons was helping a Liberian-refugee-turned-American resident. He was also an alcoholic, which led to his early death. There were *so* many uncomfortable moments in knowing him, but knowing him also profoundly impacted my life.
Very true. I’m definitely not good at social discomfort, but since settling down in my church, I’ve been trying to reach out more and make connections with more people. I think for me it’s going to take a lot of little steps to get back to a point where I am as comfortable hanging out with a diverse group as I was when I was younger. And I would like to step further outside that comfort zone to embrace of wider circle of human beings. 
And you make a very good point about the blessings of embracing that discomfort. We never know how God will use another person to change our perspectives or open our hearts. 
That was a nice thing to do, and it's nice that you seem to have a trusting society where you live. My wife and I a few years ago picked up a young girl (teen) who was standing on the central reservation of a busy road, crying. We took her home and made sure she was ok. But afterwards we were so worried that we'd been picked up by cctv and thought to be child abductors that we flagged down a police car and told them what we'd done!
That’s definitely a concern, Terry! One morning on my way to work, I encountered a boy about 4 or 5 running down the middle of the street. Freezing cold outside, and he had oh no shoes or jacket. I quickly pulled over and tried to communicate with him, but he was speaking gibberish. I walked across the street with him to an apartment complex where children were waiting for a school bus. No one recognized him, so I immediately called the police. It took forever for them to arrive! While we waited, a grandmother took him into her apartment and fed him breakfast.
I actually was called to court months later. The mother had left the child alone in her apartment and the state took custody. I think a lot of people don’t want to get involved in those kind of situations because of the risk of what may be required or the risk of being sued.
You and your wife were angels for that girl, I’m sure!
I'm working on my own impossible project, Holly and this post helped me frame the whole thing in a new way (the old frame I was seeing through was not working). Thank you for the inspiration! Sending you best wishes and lots of positive energy as you bring the next phase of your dream to life. It's clear that you're well on your way there! :)
My mother would have said, "Oh, that is synchronicity at work!" (She loved to learn and use words-it made us NUTS as teenagers but I am so thankful for it now). You are a community builder. And you know what, you are fearless! I also want to say, "Great Job" on all the new subscribers! With every piece you write, it is traveling further and further, inspiring us all. (Which conversely makes me think, uh, oh, my subscribers are not growing...am I not inspiring/entertaining anyone? Okay, Mary, you are 61, not 14) I love, love, love what you are doing with that 112 year old building!
You keep writing, Mary! My subscribers are growing, but the truth is that there is an ebb and flow to it. The people who are supposed to read your words will find them!
Oh, Holly, you lovely, lovely soul. Thank you. Truly, deeply, thank you. My piece today (on sub stack) would not have come to me had you not said the words above to me.
Why is it that I always tear up when I read your stories Holly? Meeting Ms. Mary was meant to be. It's nice to see that people who need help fall into the path of someone who can help them.
Keep thinking positively on your event venue. You may have run into some obstacles but keep remembering why you're doing it in the first place. And don't give up. I know you can do it!
Oh Holly, a timely post again! I've been struggling with fear of failure, fear of not doing the "right" things, fear of not going in the direction God wants me to go...and He's starting to show me that, if my heart posture is humble and my desire is to serve Him, I can't really do anything "wrong."
A friend pointed out to me the other day that God uses all things for our sanctification. Whether it's a failure in human terms or not doesn't matter: what you said in this posts stands true. When we seek to serve God, He will guide us in the paths that are best for us and that further His plan. We can't judge the whole picture because we can't see it, but we can trust that His plans are good and that we will grow through all things.
My heart isn't yet as open to others and to those random interruptions as yours is, but I desire to come to a point where it is. 💛
“... if my heart posture is humble and my desire is to serve Him, I can't really do anything ‘wrong.’” Yes! I think we can all get caught up in the “am I doing it right?” mentality that keeps us from really living with purpose. There is purpose in so many ordinary activities!
It took years for me to be open to interruptions (Type A personality over here!), and I still struggle with it daily. Even as an extrovert, I want to protect “my time.” But is my time really, well, mine?
A very good point. I frequently have to remind myself that every moment of my life is a gift from God. Thinking about it that way reframes the whole conversation around distraction and wasted time. When each moment is a precious gift, it can transform our approach to scheduling and the way we look at “interruptions.”
It’s a mindset I still struggle to get into and maintain as a fellow Type A!
LOVED this story!! “Love comes in the interruptions.” Wow. Thank you for vacuuming (there should be an award for that much sq footage), picking up trash and driving the elderly to breakfast and home again. 🥰♥️
Re your question: Any job loss that Bryan and I have had (that wasn’t of our own initiation) has been a scary transition. But even through the uncertainty of what comes next, we have landed on our feet.
My entire Lonesome, Party of Six series started like this! My family (minus my older son, who had gone to the Egg Bowl) went to a movie on Thanksgiving night. I was leaving for a weekend of writing collaboration very early the next morning and didn't want to drive ALL THE WAY across town to eat at Cracker Barrel. Alas, nothing else was open, my daughter noticed an older man eating alone and paid for his meal, and the scenarios began to paint themselves into my consciousness.
Thanks for the reminder of God's beauty found when things don't work out like we'd planned!
Yes, the first in a series. One of my characters remarked that it seemed like they had all stepped into an empty season. Shortly after, the whole world plunged onto a lonely season (March 2020). I finished the first drafts of the rest of the series during the COVID year, the most prolific writing stretch I have ever had.
“Love comes in the interruptions.” What a beautiful truth!
Wonderful, wonderful words, Holly. Your encounter with Ms Mary has made me beam from ear to ear AND given me goosepimples, and THESE words about the dance team are everything:
"I told her the only payment required was to work hard on their routine and go make our county proud."
Holly, you do YOURSELF proud, and inspire me with every word you write. Thank you.
I think about Ms. Mary often. She reminded me of my own grandmother, and sometimes you need to remember those you no longer have with you. ❤️
I love this post, and the happy ending that can now replace an old memory of mine. Years ago when I was probably in my 20's, my friend and I were on our way somewhere, who knows where now. It was raining out, and we spied an older woman hitchhiking in the rain. Of course, we stopped. Who passes up and elderly woman in the rain hitchhiking? She climbed in the backseat and we headed off to lower Millbrae, about a ten minute drive from where we were. In that ten minutes, the woman began to make comments that made both of us very concerned-- perhaps we had made a mistake. Seriously, I thought maybe she'd pull out a gun and shoot us. My girlfriend maintained her calm demeanor and drove to the nearest spot possible to pull over, and then with a friendly voice said, "okay, this is as far as we are going." The woman balked a bit, made a few off remarks, but eventually got out of the car. We silly girls laughed at everything back in the day, so we took a deep breath of relief, and then began laughing hysterically. Who knows now if we were just being ridiculous young gals, over-reacting, but I still don't think so. I love that you helped Ms. Mary, and especially that there was a happy ending to your story! 💟
Believe me--I’ve had my fair share of moments when I knew the right thing to do was run the other direction!🤣 I trust my intuition and wisdom. I don’t pick up all people who need a ride!
That's a good thing. I'd like to think my intuition is better these days :)
It's so lovely to hear how much good you are doing in your part of the world! (Not to mention everything you do here). I'm so inspired. Things like this don't happen often in Brooklyn--actually, my grandmother spent part of her childhood in the neighborhood I live in, and I'm 99% sure no who lives here now knew her.
I admit that I experience life much differently here in rural America than so many who live in cities. But that’s part of why we moved here--I was tired of living in a subdivision where I knew none of my neighbors. Life in community feels so good and inspires me daily!
Reading your newsletter makes me realize that I don't know much of anyone in my community. I'm a dedicated introvert a lot of the time, and I wonder if that results in me missing out on these important, touching moments.
I’ve been having this conversation a lot lately as a family member seems to be in great mental decline due to her refusal to get out in the world and socialize a bit. I’m not saying that is the only contributing factor, but a big one. Even though people label me as an extrovert, I have days when I want nothing more than to be shut up in my house with all my comfortable things and my thoughts.
Getting out there is uncomfortable. Even extroverts want to control their social environments, right? We want to rub elbows with people who think like us. We want to hang out with people who look like us. So I don’t necessarily think it’s about being introverted so much as any of us challenging ourselves to be uncomfortable sometimes.
One of my most uncomfortable seasons was helping a Liberian-refugee-turned-American resident. He was also an alcoholic, which led to his early death. There were *so* many uncomfortable moments in knowing him, but knowing him also profoundly impacted my life.
Very true. I’m definitely not good at social discomfort, but since settling down in my church, I’ve been trying to reach out more and make connections with more people. I think for me it’s going to take a lot of little steps to get back to a point where I am as comfortable hanging out with a diverse group as I was when I was younger. And I would like to step further outside that comfort zone to embrace of wider circle of human beings. 
And you make a very good point about the blessings of embracing that discomfort. We never know how God will use another person to change our perspectives or open our hearts. 
That was a nice thing to do, and it's nice that you seem to have a trusting society where you live. My wife and I a few years ago picked up a young girl (teen) who was standing on the central reservation of a busy road, crying. We took her home and made sure she was ok. But afterwards we were so worried that we'd been picked up by cctv and thought to be child abductors that we flagged down a police car and told them what we'd done!
That’s definitely a concern, Terry! One morning on my way to work, I encountered a boy about 4 or 5 running down the middle of the street. Freezing cold outside, and he had oh no shoes or jacket. I quickly pulled over and tried to communicate with him, but he was speaking gibberish. I walked across the street with him to an apartment complex where children were waiting for a school bus. No one recognized him, so I immediately called the police. It took forever for them to arrive! While we waited, a grandmother took him into her apartment and fed him breakfast.
I actually was called to court months later. The mother had left the child alone in her apartment and the state took custody. I think a lot of people don’t want to get involved in those kind of situations because of the risk of what may be required or the risk of being sued.
You and your wife were angels for that girl, I’m sure!
That must have been quite distressing for you. Poor kid
I'm working on my own impossible project, Holly and this post helped me frame the whole thing in a new way (the old frame I was seeing through was not working). Thank you for the inspiration! Sending you best wishes and lots of positive energy as you bring the next phase of your dream to life. It's clear that you're well on your way there! :)
So glad to inspire, Kerri! I’ve been following along with your new goals and have been wishing you success...but maybe I should wish you failure?🤔😂
LOL!!! I really appreciate the good wishes for a successful failure!! Or something like that! 😆 💖
"Love comes in the interruptions." Just perfect.
My mother would have said, "Oh, that is synchronicity at work!" (She loved to learn and use words-it made us NUTS as teenagers but I am so thankful for it now). You are a community builder. And you know what, you are fearless! I also want to say, "Great Job" on all the new subscribers! With every piece you write, it is traveling further and further, inspiring us all. (Which conversely makes me think, uh, oh, my subscribers are not growing...am I not inspiring/entertaining anyone? Okay, Mary, you are 61, not 14) I love, love, love what you are doing with that 112 year old building!
You keep writing, Mary! My subscribers are growing, but the truth is that there is an ebb and flow to it. The people who are supposed to read your words will find them!
Oh, Holly, you lovely, lovely soul. Thank you. Truly, deeply, thank you. My piece today (on sub stack) would not have come to me had you not said the words above to me.
Why is it that I always tear up when I read your stories Holly? Meeting Ms. Mary was meant to be. It's nice to see that people who need help fall into the path of someone who can help them.
Keep thinking positively on your event venue. You may have run into some obstacles but keep remembering why you're doing it in the first place. And don't give up. I know you can do it!
Thanks for the encouragement, Matt! Ms. Mary was such a blessing to my day all those months ago.
Forgotten mouse? Free tip: spend an hour getting used to using your trackpad.
I use both, but my day job requires multiple monitors and the ability to work quickly at a moment’s notice. A mouse better facilitates that!
What a beautiful story about finding magic in the mundane. Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it, Chris!
As it has already been mentioned .... “Love comes in the interruptions.”
Love you Holly!
Love you, Syd!
Oh Holly, a timely post again! I've been struggling with fear of failure, fear of not doing the "right" things, fear of not going in the direction God wants me to go...and He's starting to show me that, if my heart posture is humble and my desire is to serve Him, I can't really do anything "wrong."
A friend pointed out to me the other day that God uses all things for our sanctification. Whether it's a failure in human terms or not doesn't matter: what you said in this posts stands true. When we seek to serve God, He will guide us in the paths that are best for us and that further His plan. We can't judge the whole picture because we can't see it, but we can trust that His plans are good and that we will grow through all things.
My heart isn't yet as open to others and to those random interruptions as yours is, but I desire to come to a point where it is. 💛
“... if my heart posture is humble and my desire is to serve Him, I can't really do anything ‘wrong.’” Yes! I think we can all get caught up in the “am I doing it right?” mentality that keeps us from really living with purpose. There is purpose in so many ordinary activities!
It took years for me to be open to interruptions (Type A personality over here!), and I still struggle with it daily. Even as an extrovert, I want to protect “my time.” But is my time really, well, mine?
A very good point. I frequently have to remind myself that every moment of my life is a gift from God. Thinking about it that way reframes the whole conversation around distraction and wasted time. When each moment is a precious gift, it can transform our approach to scheduling and the way we look at “interruptions.”
It’s a mindset I still struggle to get into and maintain as a fellow Type A!
LOVED this story!! “Love comes in the interruptions.” Wow. Thank you for vacuuming (there should be an award for that much sq footage), picking up trash and driving the elderly to breakfast and home again. 🥰♥️
“Love comes in the interruptions.”
*chef’s kiss*
Re your question: Any job loss that Bryan and I have had (that wasn’t of our own initiation) has been a scary transition. But even through the uncertainty of what comes next, we have landed on our feet.
We’ve experienced that a couple of times too, Jen, and while it’s never comfortable, it always seems to work out. And we find ourselves better for it.
My entire Lonesome, Party of Six series started like this! My family (minus my older son, who had gone to the Egg Bowl) went to a movie on Thanksgiving night. I was leaving for a weekend of writing collaboration very early the next morning and didn't want to drive ALL THE WAY across town to eat at Cracker Barrel. Alas, nothing else was open, my daughter noticed an older man eating alone and paid for his meal, and the scenarios began to paint themselves into my consciousness.
Thanks for the reminder of God's beauty found when things don't work out like we'd planned!
That’s awesome, Al! Is that one of your books?
Yes, the first in a series. One of my characters remarked that it seemed like they had all stepped into an empty season. Shortly after, the whole world plunged onto a lonely season (March 2020). I finished the first drafts of the rest of the series during the COVID year, the most prolific writing stretch I have ever had.
Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1735806501
Apparently, Amazon is running a 51% off sale on the paperback version!
Good to know! Thanks!
Please post a link so anyone interested can check it out!