LIFE | Do You See What I See

Photo taken by Lisa Davis Fleihman

Man oh man oh man!
Every time I'm all geared up for sharing + blogging these days, I feel like I'm surrounded by crises that cause me to pause and prevent me from posting.

First it was Harvey in Houston.
Then Irma in my home state of Florida.
The earthquake in Mexico - the 2nd one in two weeks!
And Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico right now.
And I intentionally refrained from using adjectives because every single event has been devastating. 
That's not even touching on the fires in the Northwest and so many other natural disasters going on simultaneously.

So....I keep putting blogging off to the side...
feeling awkward and inappropriate.
Guilt stops me from talking about fun things when so much suffering is occurring around me.

I have to shamefully admit I've even found myself on several occasions disappointed in SMF's aka social media friends, who continue their regularly scheduled posting, not even so much as uttering a word of concern for the many lives being changed, wrecked and even taken.

I think it's the similar feelings associated with losing someone. It's almost appalling and heart wrenching to see the world continue on as normal...not even a slight pause...when your world has come to a complete standstill.

BUT...
Here's where the growth and learning come into play.
Once again, I have realized the importance of normalcy and "business as usual" - as heartless as it may seem. 
It's crucial to our survival to not miss a beat.
It's imperative for the ones that are struggling to watch others move forward.
There's a healing that occurs. And though it's painful, I truly believe it to be part of His plan.

So, today I have had a change of heart.
I think I'm realizing, again, there is never going to be a perfect time to share things for there is and always will be something horrific going on in the world.

My blog is my safe place - and hopefully a safe place for you as well.
It's the place I come to when I want to tune out the world.
It's a place for me to laugh...and cry... and frankly everything in between.
My blog is a part of me; therefore it's a part of the world.
Today, because I am able, I choose to be the place of normalcy, the "business as usual".
I choose to be the escape.
However, I will also choose to pray.

Having said that, turn your eyes back to the photo at the beginning of the post - a photo taken just this morning by a sweet Florida friend on Facebook. In her own words, "Do you see what I see in the bright sunlight coming through the trees?"

xoxo,
Jess

KEEPiNG iT REAL
Hurricane Irma punched our state right in the face. We were without power for 5 days here in Florida but our area faired considerably well compared to areas within minutes of us. The Jacksonville and St. Augustine areas, the communities we now call home, endured considerable flooding, power outages and property damage.

The silver lining? Ella, Hamilton and I disappeared for a few days while power was being restored and headed back home to Central Florida to stay with my mom (and Ella stayed with her best friend). I got to surprise my two older girls by showing up at their places of employment and also share dinner and breakfast with them.