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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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1971 Heart Street

Petite, wide-eyed, spirited – she’s made herself at home, this little girl. Hers is a spacious apartment, filled with floor to ceiling windows. This shy little one lives deep within the real estate of my heart. I sometimes wonder if her apartment is bigger than my own. Truth is, she’s held a lease here much longer than I have. Many seasons of my life have come and gone over the years, and she’s welcomed them all. She’s a constant among these halls.

She’s not intrusive or demanding; she’s but a child, with a lifetime of space to fill. Her windows are her dreams. Some of these dreams she can easily discern; looking out on a clear day, she’s able to sharply see a husband, children – a family of her very own. She smiles when she considers the many dreams-come-true she’s been privy to, over the years. Some dreams, though, are hard to visualize…does she dare believe that they can be hers?

No one ever told this young lady she was worthy. No one ever made her feel safe, cherished, validated. I sometimes catch sight of her shuffling through the dark halls as if she’s waiting – aching for something. A familiar heaviness fills the darkness…this pint-sized breath of innocence wants nothing more than to know she is a treasure to the ones who gave her life.

Even though her sweet, ponytailed self takes up a lot of space, I’ve grown to appreciate the unexpected source of wisdom she is to her forty-something year old roommate. She’s etched herself on the woman I am in ways I couldn’t have realized, had she not been sharing the walls of my heart. She’s taught me compassion. She’s trained me to notice pain in the eyes of those around me. She reminds me that, beneath the surface, everybody has a story…everyone longs to be nurtured and valued.

As the years progress, and we become more familiar with one another, I’m finding that I’m able to teach her a few things, from time to time, as well. Nowadays, she’s open to reminders that there is One to whom she’ll always be a treasure. One who believes she can dream big dreams, because He is the strength behind her. One who finds her of great worth. She knows this One. He stole her heart at eight years old, and has yet to abandon her.

In baby-step fashion, she’s coming to realize that earthly kinship can merely pacify. The only One who is able to wholly satisfy the craving of her heart…He has adored her, with an everlasting love, since the daybreak of time.

We’ve shared a lot across the years, this little girl and I. There was a time when I wondered if she’d ever move out—a time when she challenged me in ways that felt burdensome. But, now…now, I hope she’ll linger; we make a good team, it seems. Plus, it’s not very easy to find good roommates. I think I’ll pop in, with some cake, for a visit—just so happens…we both love cake.

“Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.” (Psalm 27:10, NIV)  flower

 

(This article was originally written for Faithwriters on October 9, 2014.  To view this article as it originally appeared, please visit: Autobiographical Challenge.)

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Never can there be too many magnolia pictures. . S Never can there be too many magnolia pictures.
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Says the lens of my eyes; of my soul.
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(“Not so,” says my iphone storage, but that’s a tomorrow problem.)
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Every time I leave my house, I can’t not stop, not stare, not take another jillion pictures.
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This magnolia tree of mine, she keeps a record of time, reaching farther into the sky with each passing year.
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In all her southern glory, she lifts leaves and limbs toward heaven, pointing to the One on whom all glory rests.
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Boldly, yet elegantly, she speaks of a Creator who, year upon year, grows lovely things under the banner of His care in the lives of His own.
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Even in times when life doesn’t feel full of lovely, may we listen to the magnolia’s anthem.
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She doesn’t question the winter, knowing full well that her Maker has yet to deny spring its beauty.
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I wonder how breathtaking magnolias must be in the City of God. ✨
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“Not to us, O, LORD, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1 💕
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#magnolia #spring #beauty #glory #godsglory #wordship #praise #faithfulgod #riseup #showup #christianwriter #ministry #amwriting #leadership #influence #serve #growwhereyoureplanted #pictures #grace #bible #weary #listen #joy #life #lovely #plants #garden #majesty #southern #naturespeaks
The May calendar has a way of turning our thoughts The May calendar has a way of turning our thoughts toward home, doesn’t it?
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Perhaps, for you, that’s a beloved Home State where the soil smells like childhood and dreams.
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Or, maybe the humble shelter of your youth, where boo-boos were kissed & fairytales carried you into dreamland.
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Perhaps you’re like me, and yesteryear’s home holds heartache and rejection, insecurity and confusion.
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Far too much of my past I spent chasing roots, not sensing an inheritance of belonging within the halls of my kin.
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Layer by broken layer, though, the Lord is healing me from within, showing me that…
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What our hearts long for can’t be satisfied with what our lives long for.
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The temporal can’t pacify the eternal.
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We’re so prone to searching for home in containers not meant to carry its calling—whether in place or people, title or position, acceptance or belonging—that we seek to satisfy its longing with lesser things.
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Having a sense of home within our circles is beautiful and sacred, but—it’s a shallow substitute for the inheritance we have in God.
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No place, no person, no position—no earthly brand of belonging—can ever claim home to your soul like the Haven of Him.
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Quiet your spirit in the shadow of His covering, dear friend, for never will He stop calling you His own. 💕
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#home #mothersday #belonging #longing #rejection #insecurity #questions #confusion #heartache #brokenness #leftout #healing #acceptance #inheritance #haven #soul #rest #childofGod #included #christianwriter #ministry #influence #leadership #amwriting #abandoned #forgotten #loveofgod #youreenough #comeasyouare #faithfulgod
Dear friend, do you feel like you’re etching a p Dear friend, do you feel like you’re etching a prayer into the ear of God, day upon year upon decade?
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You’re asking “why,” and “when, O Lord,” yet the situation your heart plays on repeat at the altar of God, remains seemingly unchanged.
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Oh, friend, I understand; me too.
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Sometimes those miracles we’re waiting for, they come at the expense of years of prayer.
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Not because God is cruel, but because God is thorough. He phones nothing in; takes no shortcuts with our hearts.
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The life-mending, soul-touching, supernatural work of God takes time to witness from our perspective.
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Oh, but take heart, dear friend, for God hears the cries of your heart.
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That outcome you’re praying for? Your God is already there, working out the details ahead of you.
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Even when it feels like you’re crying yet one more prayer into the silence, He hears and is moving ahead of you in ways you can’t even imagine right now.
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Hang on, my friend; keep praying, for those prayers are a worthy sacrifice to the only God who is altogether able. 🙌💕
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#questions #confusion #heartache #uncertainty #weary #prayer #miracle #godisalreadythere #faithfulgod #hope #praise #remember #waitongod #trust #faith #patience #ministry #serve #influence #leadership #godisable #christianwriter #amwriting #worthygod #exhausted #drained #grateful #struggle #stress #bible
I wonder, friend, do the demands of life leave you I wonder, friend, do the demands of life leave you feeling downright weary at times?
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If so, I understand. Me too.
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Oh, that our souls would rest in remembering that Jesus also knew what it was to feel weary as He walked this earth in human flesh.
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You are not alone.
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This one’s for the weary. 💗
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Head over to Proverbs31ministries.org. to read & join the conversation! 💕
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#weary #exhausted #tired #spent #hope #jesus #rest #weariness #busyness #struggle #serve #ministry #leadership #servantleadership #influence #humility #godknows #godcares #legacy #boundaries #wisdom #prayer #makeadifference #sacrifice #peace #faithfulgod #proverbs31ministries #followjesus #itsgonnabeokay #godisnear
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