Real Life Reflections

A little over a month ago, I set out to go through the assignments in the book, The Highly Sensitive Person's Companion. Five blog posts later, I've found that there doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in this particular subject. My motivation in writing on the life of introverts is to encourage and support those blessed with this character trait. If that's not happening, I have no problem moving on. Which is exactly what I plan to do. I have several writing projects in process, and I plan to take a break from blogging to spend some time where my passion is - children's literature. Of course, if you're an introvert in need of a little encouragement or some helpful hints, please feel free to contact me by email (lgal116@gmail.com). I'd be more than happy to offer whatever support, advice, and encouragement I can!

A few years and two children after my husband and I married, we gathered in front of a TV along with my small crowd of in-laws. One of my brothers-in-law had converted a collection of home movies into the latest cutting-edge technology: VHS tapes. We watched the black and white antics of twenty-seven cousins who grew up closer than many siblings do. As the tape played, I began to marvel at my mother-in-law and her sisters. I only had two children and often enough felt like sanity was just beyond my reach. Here were three women with twenty-seven children between them. And no, they were not sweet, calm, book-loving children that never gave their parents cause for hair-tearing. They were lively, spirited, wrestling, yelling, prank-pulling, Little Rascals-worthy normal children. As one Easter, somewhere in the 1960s, scrolled across the screen, and these cherubic children in their clean, pressed, darling Easter attire paraded down the front steps of my husband's boyhood home, my marv...

I hate this week's topic: me. I don't mean that I literally hate me, but this week's Introverts Thrive assignment is to list all the attributes of your introversion that are positive. The assignment isn't to list positive attributes of introversion in general - you know, all those other introverts out there. Nope. It's to list those positive attributes of introversion that you (I) personally hold and exhibit from time to time. Ugh. Really, I've been stuck on this one for three weeks. Squirming. Writhing. Ignoring. Re-reading. Surely I misunderstood. Not a chance. Honestly, I would much prefer to make a list of the attributes of God. It would be a lot easier and more fun, but I think this exercise is important in understanding ourselves, in accepting ourselves, in loving the person God created. In order to make your list, try looking at yourself from God's perspective. Picture you and God sitting down for a chat. He starts singing to you the song from tho...