Dianna Buchwalter

  Have you ever attended a gathering and you’re the only one over-dressed? Gosh, it feels all eyes are on you as soon as you enter the room. Last weekend, I took my decked-to-the-nines 10 year old to a Christmas party. It was the first time she had been to this friend’s home and her nerves and excitement had been building for a week. She looked beautiful in her black lace dress and red velvet shrug. As we walked in, Ava inched behind me with her hands clutched as she realized all the other girls were wearing jeans.  Mom fail #2,847! This got me thinking about all the firsts we experience throughout our lives. Walking into a new school. Entering a social event to find cliques have already been made. Visiting a church seeking food for the soul but not knowing one. We all have a first time for everything. For some, it can attack us with anxiety. But maybe it’s not first encounters that you find difficult. Maybe it’s the 300 th and yet still feel as though you don’t belong. ...

  A baby was born, all things were new. With my tiny hand in yours, you whispered “God, thank you.”   As a kid we kneeled side by side for bedtime prayer. With hands folded gently, we thanked God for being there.   Twelve was too old for me to hold your hand. So you let go and asked God to fill me with faith and firmly stand.   By the time my hands were on the steering wheel of a car, I didn’t want to participate in prayer so you said them from afar.   I was stubborn and rebellious and many mistakes were made. When everyone around me left, you and God always stayed.   Tired of searching for the purpose of life, I opened my hands in surrender and thus stopped my inner strife.   A baby was born and all things were new. I lifted my hands to God with gratitude. As the hands of time changed, so did mine and yours. No matter the circumstance, I always saw your love for the Lord. Because your life tells a story of how God has used you to help others persever...

  "Flip the cushions to the good side," is what I said to myself while in preparation for many houseguests that are to arrive in two days.  Our patio furniture has been put to good and frequent use. We keep the cushions cruddy-side up to make sure it's brother, sunny-side stays clean for visitors.  Our home is never as clean as it is before we have guests. Can you relate? Why is it we feel the need to give an appearance of a spotless home and perfect life?  Could it be we want to impress others with an illusion that we have it all together? You know, the joker-sized smile on Sunday morning.  Children perfectly posed on our latest Facebook post. A successful career that affords lavish trips. No one has to know that the smile we wear is to hide the tears from a fight with our loved one. That it took 20 takes before getting the one good picture of our kids. That the 5 day beach trip came after 360 days of a high-stress, unrewarding job.  We seem to worry more ...

I took a walk today and stopped to sit on a bench facing the water (pictured above). Behind me is a lot of traffic and noise but in front of me lies beauty and calmness. With my earbuds in and current favorite song on, I closed my eyes and there it was, what I wanted to feel...His presence. It can be challenging to stop. I wondered how many times I had actually taken time out at midday on a Monday  to be still with God. The answer is I cannot remember. I'm sure this is often the case with most of us because we don't have the time. And we have other priorities. But the thing is, we do have the time. We just have to make it . It may take creativity or taking time away from something else but can we afford not to? My answer is no. Our God in Heaven longs to have a relationship with us. Relationships grow stronger when time is invested. The song I was listening to has a chorus that goes something like "I see the evidence of your goodness all over my life." I've never ...