life

“Why Not?!”

/ LaShona Sellers / 2 Comments

Around this time last year, I tried my hand at microfiction with The Writer Magazine’s 100-word contest. I don’t consider myself a fiction writer but, with time and a $10 entry fee to spare, I thought “Why not?!” So color me shocked when I finished as 1 of 50 semi-finalists. Ok. Not bad. Was I convinced I needed to begin creating characters and plotting a grand story? No. But I was, and still am, encouraged to keep challenging myself; trying new things, flexing new muscles and thinking outside the box. Step by step, a little more each day. How about you?

Here’s my 100-word story “Dear Kelly” (with a little homage to the classic Les Miserables):

“Dear John,
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. I’m headed to New York. I can no longer deny my destiny. If I stay I will be devoured by bitterness and regret. I hope you understand. Please find a way to move on without me. Also, I have taken Marius. I don’t feel you ever had the time or capacity to give this brilliant soul the care he needs…
Dear Kelly,
A little surprised but also quite relieved. Hope you find what you’re looking for. And Marius was more your pet anyway. I’m allergic to cats.”

She Thought of Suicide

/ LaShona Sellers / 2 Comments

She thought of suicide today

No dark obsession

No detailed plan

Just a fleeting moment

With the weight of the world on her shoulders

Her mind teetering on the edge

“What if?”

She thought of suicide today

And felt ashamed

Comparing her plight

A life seemingly uncomplicated

Despising her weakness

She thought of suicide today

For just a fleeting moment

And then…

She reached out for help.

–LAS

You are not alone. There is Hope. There is Light in the darkness. Hold on. Reach out.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Ordinary’s Impact

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

“I grew up with quilts like these.”

I remembered the quilts folded in closets, spread across beds and laid on floors as pallets. I remembered sleeping soundly tucked under their heavy warmth. To my young eyes they were just fabric scraps stitched together, a colorful hodgepodge, a mosaic of everyday life.

So as I stood with my husband in the Baltimore Museum of Art, I marveled at how what I considered such an ordinary part of my life now hung as art, admired and coveted by museums all over the world. Someone recognized the powerful beauty and impact of the stories of these quilts and the women who made them.

What do you have? An ability? An idea? A story? Your presence? It seems so ordinary and inconsequential to you yet it may have the power to shift the world around you for the good and the glory of God.

Sometimes our reflections are muddied by distraction and discouragement but I’m grateful God always sends reinforcements to remind us for whom and for what we’ve been created. Let this be your reminder. Don’t underestimate or diminish the impact of the “ordinary.”

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” -2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

Learn more about Gee’s Bend here

Do You Know?

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

Perfection makes impossible demands

Leaving you parched

Thirsting for drops of validation

Begging to be understood

To be seen

To be heard

But, dear one, do you know how lovingly you were formed?

Every hair numbered

Your life purposed

Your very existence a reflection of God’s glory

You are the apple of His eye

In His image created

Fully Known. Deeply Loved.

—L.A.S

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

Tis the season, friends. And no doubt it’s…different. I found myself close to ‘Bah Humbug’ until I was struck by the words of an old familiar carol:

🎶God rest ye merry gentlemen Let nothing you dismay Remember Christ our Savior Was born on Christmas Day To save us all from Satan’s pow’r When we were gone astray Oh tidings of comfort and joy Comfort and joy Oh tidings of comfort and joy🎶

So today I offer tidings of comfort and joy To the believer and the unbeliever To the cheerful and the grieving To the hopeful and the discouraged To the gathered and the lonely

And I pray we all remember and come to know Immanuel, the One who was, is and always will be with us.

“…She will give birth to a son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”- Isaiah 7:14

“…and He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”- Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Letting Them See Me Cry

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

2020! What a year…and it’s not done yet. The highs, the lows and so many firsts, including the first (and probably now second, third….) time my kids have really seen me cry.

I’m the mom with the schedule and lists, always with a plan. I’m the mom that hovers, hugs and holds hands. I’m also the mom that yells, lectures and opens doors without knocking (hey, it’s all about balance). But I’ve never been the mom to openly cry. “Not in front of the children,” “Suck it up, can’t let them think mom doesn’t have everything under control.” But you know, all of that has gone out the window in this age of Covid. John 11:35 says “Jesus wept,” the shortest and probably one of the most transparent verses in the Bible. In other words, Jesus grieved and felt deeply the loss of his friend. Over the past few months I’ve grieved deeply the loss of my grandmother, the loss of time, the loss of connections and the loss of some of life as it was. And my kids have silently watched my tears…it’s been weird, it’s been awkward, they’ve asked questions, we talk, we process and life keeps moving.

But the tears I shed are not without hope. Hope for the seeds I see sprouting to life. Seeds of renewed connection and relationship. Seeds of clarity and purpose. Seeds of assurance and unwavering peace. My tears are shed trusting in the One who is Hope.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.” -Jeremiah 17:7

So, yes, I cry but I have hope and I keep going. Let’s keep hope alive, friends.

“As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more.”- Psalm 71:14

(Quote photo from www.askideas.com; Scripture photo from Kendrick Home)