SEEING WHAT CAN’T BE SEEN

EPISODE #130

This week we’re chatting about:

• How to see what can’t be seen – and lessons we can learn from wind
• The similarities we have to kites – and how to soar
• My new podcast show and a GIVEAWAY!

LIBRARY FIND!

Reading changes lives – it can transform your world. There is no excuse not to read – I believe we can incorporate more reading into our lives and minds.

THANK YOU!

How many people have friends who will pull up an email from ten years ago? I’m not sure, but what I am sure of is that I am grateful.   My best friend Angi randomly shared this email with me, not knowing that I was blogging about “seeing what cannot be seen” and that I wanted my personal theme of the week to be focused on that of trusting what I cannot see. 

EMAIL STORY:

Email from my best friend Angi:

{Email text}:

Just under a decade ago, you wrote me an email about the crossroads you were at in France: before you read, I just have you comment: You gotta love how God has a plan for us and how hard it is to SEE that when we’re in the middle of life decisions.

Enjoy your letter from 9 years ago…. (PS: I love your cons list!)

{Email summary}:

• I was at a crossroads in France – had job offers there with the intention to give me international sports management experience with the hopes for me to eventually move to Switzerland to work for the International Olympic Committee.
• I was broke.
• I had no car.
• I missed the United States, but loved France and didn’t have a job, or car to come home to in the US either.
• I was overwhelmed and had no real vision for my life.

And yes, I’ll share my {cons} list to staying in France…

cons:

crappy gyms

everything is expensive

i heart america and salvate at the thought of starbucks

i miss barnes and nobles, wawa gas stations, and walmart

i currently hate french fashion

dog poop everywhere

far from family and friends

no car

I miss my southern preppy boys)

cost of the plane ticket back

re-applying for visa

pros:

the language, the language, the language

travel

experience

In short, it’s amazing how at some of the most mega crossroads of our lives that we can’t always see what God sees in His master plan for us.   I decided to come home and the course of my life – and my career – would have never been the same if I had not.

{lesson}

We must learn to trust the plan – God’s plan – and what we can’t fully see when we find ourselves overwhelmed and when we can’t see where we think we even want to be.

KITE STORY:

My kite date with my husband started like the picturesque ending of a movie. The sun had begun its sinking course towards the line where the blues of the ocean and the sky collide. Brandon chased seagulls in the surf with seven-month-old Ellie on his shoulders, his muscular arms in a reverse akimbo to hold her tightly to her throne. They skirted around the lapping of the waves, soaking up the last bits of summer. The joy of the afternoon eventually weighed heavy on Ellie’s eyes, and she nodded off to sleep, lulled to sleep by the susurration of the waves.

As Ellie napped we unraveled the tangled strings of the kite.   This would be our first time flying a kite together; in fact, it had been over two decades since either of us had taken a kite to flight.

One of the most amazing things about kites is their timelessness. They draw spectators. They cause people, young and old, to pause. Something about seeing a kite tells your soul to slow down and take note of the moment…it is a moment that is special. Kites tell us to see something that isn’t otherwise visible – they show us how to see the wind. A masterful kite runner looks to move into the wind. They see potential is something that cannot be seen and can only be felt. The wind cannot be touched – but it is there. It cannot be seen, but its presence is undeniable.

As we stood, our toes massaging the grains of the Jersey Shore sand and our eyes fixated on the sky, our little kite took flight.  It soared claiming the billowy dunes below it, creating a tiny portrait of moving art as it hugged the wind to stay in flight.  The wind whipped in changing directions and Brandon masterfully directed it towards each change, maneuvering its position with the dual handle system that attached the kite to us.   When the wind changed, the kite fell; and unless Brandon was able to quickly redirect the kite’s approach to the wind, it would plummet, crashing forcefully on the sand.

Against the wind, kites soar.  With the wind they plummet.   We all have winds in our lives, winds that may at times feel oppressive, ever-changing, and often unexpected, but if we turn into them we have the ability to soar.  If we run from them, pretend they are not there, or disengage from them, we will plummet, not reaching our full potential.

Like kites we have the opportunity to maximize the unpredictable currents of the wind – we can set flight to our full potential by looking at exactly that which we imagined a hindrance to us as the opposite – as our fuel, as exactly what makes us soar. Without these winds we cannot fly. A kite without the wind at its face is merely a piece of cloth or plastic. Against adversity it shines. It becomes that which it was created to be.

In the same way, you can create something out of nothing if you choose to turn into the wind – to face the truth of the direction is challenges you and then let yourself be challenged and blown until you shine and soar and become a visual point of encouragement and beauty to others – people wide and far who might catch glimpse of you in glorious flight.

Stop avoiding the winds – or obstacles, challenges, trials and changes – in your life and instead turn towards them. In doing so you will not only fly, but you will also rise to new heights and will display beauty you might not have known you had.

There is more to life than we can see and there is more to us than we can see.  Even more importantly, there is more to the purpose and potential that God sees in us than we can see. He can see the entire picture of our lives – He knows what has happened, what is happening and what will happen, and He is working to make all things work out for our good. God is for us, not against us. He loves us.  He loves us with a love unseen, like the wind, but like the wind, can be clearly felt.  He uses the challenges of our lives not only to strengthen us but to set us to full flight.  Our flight is beautiful and it invites others into this wonderful world of love.

As you consider yourself as a kite over the next few days, here are some ways you can really soar to new levels of beauty and joy:

See winds of your life as ways to elevate you to new levels of sky you would have not otherwise had the opportunity to explore and see

Be willing to change direction as needed, but go bravely and boldly towards the wind 

Know that it is when you are being most challenged that you have the opportunity to be the most beautiful and to shine for others to see 

Embrace that the winds of your life are the means to which allow you to become the person you were intended to be `

SEE WHAT YOU DON’T YET SEE:

I’m serious. You really do have potential and pursue that you can’t necessarily see, but that God has definitely placed within you.   My 30-day program Breakout is designed to help you start to really see that potential that you can’t yet see. In Breakout I work side-by-side with you helping you see the beauty of the winds in your life and giving you encouragement as you set the kite of your life to full flight.  Register today for Breakout at www.trishblackwell.com/breakout   Give yourself the gift of flight now.

OK! THE GIVEAWAY DETAILS!

Steps to enter:

1. Search for “The Confident Mom” Podcast in iTunes
2. Subscribe to the show
3. Post an honest review and use the tagline #confidentmom at the end of your review
4. Make sure to listen to both podcast shows for the next 4 weeks and I will be randomly choosing winners! There will be three winners, one for each week of the new show who receive FREE access to my Emerge Program [!!!!!} If by November 1^st the new show receives over 100 reviews, a major winner will receive access to Emerge AND a beautiful Beautycounter gift of my go-to skin care love, Beautycounter Essentials Face Collection…the collection that is making my skin look radiant, clean and youthful.
5. If you hear your name announced on the show email me at trish {at} trishblackwell.com so I can contact you with your prize.

LISTENER OF THE EPISODE:

Gazelle Anne

Hi Trish! I’ve been listening to your podcast since March (I think) of this year and it’s been a game changer for me! I look forward to hearing your voice every week and want to thank you for being such a positive and inspiring role model! <3

DON’T MISS THIS FB GROUP!

To go along with the launch of The Confident Mom Podcast I’m opening a new Facebook group called Confident Moms and invite you to join! It’s a private group to share and encourage one another in the beautiful and messy journey of motherhood. We are so surrounded by competition and comparing – and motherhood deserves better than that. We deserve better than that. We are called to walk with confidence and to pour love and encouragement out on other moms to do the same. The Confident Moms Facebook group is the place where we can share and connect to do just that! Search “Confident Moms” in groups on Facebook and join us!

SPONORSHIP NOTE:

This podcast is proudly brought to you by BEAUTYCOUNTER, a mission driven, multi-channel retailer of safer, cleaner products for people and the planet. They are the first company to put health and performance first and have the most health protective screening process in the industry. BEAUTYCOUNTER is a company devoted to progress and to putting the truth back in beauty. Not only do I love their products and the positive change using them has made for wellness, but also I am proud to partner with them. Find out more about BEAUTYCOUNTER and start building your beautiful BEAUTYCOUNTER collection at www.trishblackwell.com/beautycounter.

If you are inspired to share this knowledge with others, you can share this podcast episode with friends, I invite you to join forces with me as I partner with BEAUTYCOUNTER; as my teammate in BEAUTYCOUNTER we will work together to create #betterbeauty and positive change in the self-care industry. Contact me at trish@trishblackwell.com, subject line “I want to be on your BEAUTYCOUNTER team” with any questions and for more information on how BEAUTYCOUNTER can positively impact your life and future. Since I work closely with my teammates, I can only accept twenty-five people to be a part of my team – if you are at all intrigued, don’t hesitate, contact me for more info.

Go fly your kite with joy today.  

Face with winds with enthusiasm and gratitude.