I have found many little nuggets of truth as my son and I walk through northern Georgia with Scarlett and the rest. One of these urges us to let go of things that cause us to lose sight of our purpose. Another comes from a character named Grandma Fontaine. I really enjoy this character. She is a spunky old lady that is just too old to care about what anyone thinks. Her words are wise and she delivers them for the other person’s good whether it is what the person wants to hear or not.

Shortly after the funeral for her father, Scarlett finds herself in a private conversation with Grandma Fontaine. Although the two did not get along when Scarlett was a young girl, they now find that they have a lot in common and Grandma Fontaine decides to speak openly with Scarlett and to compliment her on how she adjusts to life. She likens herself and Scarlett to buckwheat, which differs from wheat in that it bends when strong winds come. Wheat breaks under such conditions. Most of their neighbors and friends, she says, are like wheat. They would not yield to the winds of change that were blowing into their lives. They insisted on staying right where they were, in the old ways of life, and as a result they were a broken people. She and Scarlett, though bent with the wind and when it was over still stood strong over the brokenness around them. They made the changes that were necessary to survive.

How often do the winds of change blow in our day to day lives and we need to survive them? This happens a lot to me and I must admit that I, currently, am more like wheat. I have my day planned out, my goals mapped. Nothing is going to stand in my way of having this day turn out exactly as I have planned! Then, the breeze picks up with the sound of a little boy sneezing, a fever running, the rain coming, the phone calls ringing, distractions increasing. In this I have a choice, am I going to become dry and stiff to the blowing wind and demand that this day go exactly how I want it to? Or, will I bend, let my agenda go and try to still make something out of the day?

I have found that not being like buckwheat can not only make the entire day a struggle on the outside, but can also affect the attitude in yourself and the household. It just seems to add to the turmoil already brewing. Yes, the day hasn’t been what I envisioned, but it has been another day to breathe, another day to kiss my husband, another day to run around with my son, another day to enjoy. Why waste it just because it didn’t turned out how I wanted?

You have no idea how difficult this will be for me. I really struggle with this type of concept. But I am determined to be less like wheat and get a little more sap in my day.