Where She Finally Drove To the Library, But Then --

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert."   ---Isaiah 43:18,19

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So last Thursday I actually drove the few (cloud-eerie, but tree-gorgeous) blocks to Dollar Tree. 

Pushing my cart down the kitchen aisle, I thought, "This was a good idea!". I especially thought that while grabbing next year's calendar, something I never find cheaply online.

Recalling all the times I've mentioned decluttering to you, I used such self-control and mostly bought only what I needed (but oh Honey, the temptations...).

I complimented the check-out lady on her teal sweater (she appeared to need a kind word), carried my bag to the car, then headed to our town's library located in its beautiful 1925 building. Always it feels odd (but kinda cool) to meander past the outdoor barred windows of former jail cells of long ago.

The first room one steps into is dark and lined with shelves of books for sale. Squinting, I read most titled spines, but found nothing due to my extreme pickiness of what I'll read (er hem). Then I wound my way through a reading room and quiet halls with framed our-town-in-the-old-days photos.

Standing in the dusty stacks, I'd meant to scribble into my notebook cozy mystery titles to locate online, yet I just stood there and sighed, instead. "How much easier to just look up Youtube videos specifically about cozy mysteries. Why haven't I done that before?"

So while slowly stepping back to the hall, I listened to folks quietly chatting at the check-out desk and I took one final gaze around. "I haven't missed anything by not visiting here these past 4 years," I mused. "My own home library contains my loved vintage books, books this library discarded ages ago, calling them irrelevant and not politically correct. Always I can find new-to-me-treasures online."

Then entering the winding hallway, I whispered, "Good-bye, Library. You were here when I needed you, so thanks. But I've moved on."

Of course, never say never--and all that. 

But still, sometimes you just know when you've grown past something (or someone). Farewells may sting, but keeping-up a not-God's-plan pretense eventually hurts more.

And ugh, grasping dead-to-us things can scent Life all sour (shall we say).

On the drive home, all the orange and yellow trees gleamed like bright confetti even in the grey skies and I smiled with additional feelings of freedom.

How good to rest assured that, always, when God asks us to let go, He replaces that thing with a sweet sequel, something we'd never have even discovered with hands too full of the Past.

“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”   --- Steve Mariboli

--or--some people never discover their new life because they could not release the old one.

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I admit it, most of my video recommendations are geared toward women. Hey.  シ  Yet today, men readers rejoice!  You may enjoy this one: Heading Home For October. This almost resembles a movie and the outdoor scenes (and pacing) are gorgeous.

One dark morning on the red couch I began my day with this video and wow. Its beauty set the tone for the remaining hours. That huge hedge with the passageways! And don't miss the angel statue: immediately I asked God to place one like it in my garden in Heaven.

And for my fellow decorator friends, this:  A Cozy Fall Apartment In New York.

Unsure of what a cozy mystery is? Go here.

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Books I finished reading in October:

The Stillmeadow Road by Gladys Taber

The Cat, The Professor and The Poison by Leann Sweeney

The Cider Shop Rules by Julie Anne Lindsey

Autumn by Susan Branch

Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey

At Wits End by Erma Bombeck

One of my most visually beautiful books is Wildings: The Secret Garden of Eileen Soper. You can now read it at Open Library here.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   --- Jeremiah 29:11

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15