Have you ever met someone you thought was either half crazy or half genius?  G was that person.  I call her G because she reminded me of a grandma, even if she was a few years younger than me. Most would call her an old soul, I called her crazy for many years.

One time I went to visit G and, as usual, she was wearing one purple sock and one yellow sock. I have learned to accept her for who she is. She loves to garden and some of her talks were on that subject.

“Keep planting seeds. Even when all you see are weeds sprouting, don’t think for a second that seed isn’t still there. Life is like that. The weeds pop overnight but the flower takes awhile to bloom. Many people are like the weeds, grasping for the quick and easy. But when you wait for the flower and it finally blooms, man it is beautiful.”

“Weeds will choke the life out of you. Some weeds are beautiful but don’t let them fool you. A weed is still a weed.  You have to get rid of them as fast as possible.”

She invited me over to have some pie and milk one day.  After I took a bite she asked how did it taste.  I said it was delicious.  She replied: ain’t a bit of apple in it. It’s called mock apple pie.  A lot of people are like that. Say they are something and turns out they aren’t like that all. Gotta watch out for mock people.
Most of the things she said I could only shake my head at and smile. Most, I have to admit, I didn’t even understand for most of my life.

“This moment contains all moments of your life. Your entire past has lead you to this moment. Your entire future is at this moment.  Why would you want to be anywhere other than where you are now.”

“Hiding behind secrets and lies is like walking across a frozen lake as it melts beneath your feet. One more step and you could fall through.”

“True love requires open hands. Remember while you are looking down at your palms they are looking up to true love.” 

“You can’t be a star if you are always chasing the sun.”

“It’s a cold, cold world out there. The fire in you is stronger.  Don’t let anyone throw water on you.”

“You can’t live in a castle if you are always swimming in the moat.”

“You can’t soar like an eagle if your friends are all groundhogs.”

“You have two choices in life. You can live in the dark or you can find the light switch.”

“A house of cards can only stand if all four suits work together.  A spade to do the hard work,  a diamond to cut through the hard times, a club to knock some pride out of yourself, and a whole lot of hearts.”

“If a man pulls up to my house to pick me up for a date and beeps the horn, he’s at the wrong house.”

“To become who you are meant to be you have to get past who you thought you were.”

“We all need a friend like Winnie the Pooh.”

“If you don’t want to smell like a sewer, don’t hang out at the sewer.”

“There’s no I in yOU and mE. That’s whY we are an A.”

“The grass on the other side will turn brown also if you don’t take care of it.”

“Those scars remind you who were, not who are.”

“If you want to be a light in this cold, dark world, you can’t be afraid to light a candle.”

“If you want to go west but find yourself going east, turn around.”

“The sun is always shining above the clouds. Don’t let a few dark clouds ruin your tan.”

“If love makes you change who you are inside, then it isn’t love.”

“If you have to be fake to get someone to love you, then the love isn’t real.”

“Assuming you are going the right direction, if you keep putting one foot in front of the other you will get to where you want to go.”

“It’s okay to cry. One day those tears will water the most beautiful garden.”

“Sometimes the hardest person to forgive is yourself.”

“If you see a stranger who needs help, help. That stranger may be you one day.”

“If you want a clean yard, don’t expect someone else to clean up all your dog doo.”

“No pain no gain is only a half truth. We all have pain but not everyone gains. If you want to gain you have to fight through the pain, you have to not quit, you have to pick yourself back up and keep on trying.”

“Hope and faith and love are the only four letter words in my vocabulary.”

“We can never say goodbye if we first never say hello.”

“The forest has a bunch of different trees but they all provide the same shade.”

One day we were having a heart to heart about where we come from. Our hometowns, our friends, our parents.  People that influenced us. What we inspire to be.

I will never forget what she said. Even though I had to think about it for awhile.

“We are all roots. A complicated mess all tangled up together, covered in mud and dirt, just searching for the light. We are just waiting to burst through that ground and explode into what we were meant to become. Unfortunately,  most of us can’t forget the mud and dirt we left behind. Yes, it helped make us what we are and some of us still need it to give us life.  But, in order for us to live a life full, we must stay above the dirt and continue to reach for the sky. When you finally see that flower, all this dirt and mud and tangled roots will make sense.”

Roots by Parmalee- 

Roots by Zac Brown Band- 

Wonder by Hillsong United – 

My Roots Go Deeper by Alathea –