Category: Hidden Beauty

  • Maybe You’re Not Trapped

    Maybe You’re Not Trapped

    My father always warned me against driving someone else’s car. The reason? It can be a sticky situation if you damage it. Clearly, that was in the back of my mind when I first refused to drive my brother-in-law’s newly serviced 2019 Z06 Corvette home from the dealer. The dealer was closed but my sister and I had the key.  By the time we reached the parking lot, the idea of shifting through the gears grew on me. But once inside. I realized I was in unfamiliar territory. See video below.

    The Treasure: If you’re in a situation where you feel trapped, recognize you might be stuck and be willing to accept help.

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    This is my brother-in-law’s car. I had agreed to help him by driving it home from the dealer after being serviced. My sister dropped me off, I got into the car and she drove away, across the parking lot where she waited for me to catch up. Only one thing looked familiar in this stealth machine – the steering wheel. I pushed what I thought was the ignition button, but it popped the hood instead. Of course I couldn’t drive it that way so … I went to open the door to get out to shut the hood, but there was no door handle, and I was clueless on how to get out. So I grabbed my phone to call my sister for help, but my phone died in my hand. Finally she backed up to see what was up. She found me sitting in the car, engine not started, hood popped, phone dead, and not knowing how to get out! Once on the road, the ride was amazing. I’d do it again in a minute.

    Have you ever felt trapped in a situation you’re not really trapped in? Life can feel that way sometimes. The lesson? Recognize that you might be stuck and be ready to accept help. And also … keep your phone charged. J

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  • Renewed

    Renewed

    I couldn’t take my eyes off of the woman at our table. I thought she was a stranger until she told us her name. Suffering had changed her outward appearance, but she showed us how the brutality of suffering and the renewal of our hearts can travel on parallel tracks. She had turned her focus to the unseen magnificence of what’s happening on a higher, invisible plane. It all sounds rather “pie-in-the-skyish” until we embrace faith in our own suffering. (see video below)

    The Treasure:

    Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day … So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    This is where I go to church. It’s really just a building right now; there aren’t any people inside. But last week I sat at a table with 12 women for a Bible study. One person looked at me and smiled and asked me if I had been camping with Pilgrim. I wondered how she even knew about Pilgrim. I didn’t recognize her, but I answered her. It wasn’t long before she introduced herself to the table of women, I realized I had been studying with her in another Bible study for a whole season. But I didn’t recognize her now because she had had a cancer diagnosis and had been in treatment and had lost so much weight. But I also noticed that she seemed to be the most vibrant woman in the room. So, I called her today; I just wanted to hear more. I choked up a bit. Well sometimes cancer is a little up close and personal after losing Steve four years ago.

    But she told me in the dark of night that God had given her a message in her soul that was threefold:

    1. Stop worrying; you’re going ahead of me.
    2. Get out of the chair with your chemo pole and go talk to the other patients.
    3. You haven’t been praying like you used to.

    God’s words gave her hope and purpose, and she hasn’t been the same since. From the moment of her first appointment with the oncologist she realized her diagnosis could be the end. But it’s not the end right now. To me, she seemed the most vibrant woman in the room, and I can’t wait to meet her at the table again next week! 

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  • Tangled Opinions

    Tangled Opinions

    The string holder that had always tethered my kite into the sky landed on the floor in a broken tangled web. I’m still deciding whether to untangle the mess or just toss it into the garbage. Untangling a web of kite string can be as hard as sorting through opinions to get to the truth of a matter.

    My sister sent me an amusing quote about God, the Bible, and our opinions:

    “You know what God left out of the Bible? Your opinions.”

    Miriam Webster defines the word “opinion” as, an idea that is believed to be true or valid without positive knowledge.1 When it comes down to the important things of life, I want to base my decisions on more than an idea. I need knowledge and understanding based on truth that leads to wisdom, and the courage to act on what I know. Some of you will recall how my orphan grandfather challenged me to put halting, incremental confidence in God following a crisis of faith. My grandpa based his security on more than an opinion, and his trust had deepened for over seventy years. Whether we have seventy years or seventy minutes, our foundation of faith in God is equally sure. And as I stretch toward the age my grandfather was that day, I too, have come to stake my life and my eternity on the truth that God is good and can be fully trusted with my life. Check out the video below.

    1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/opinion

    The Treasure: God weaves our personal and generational past into the fabric of our stories, even the [tangled] seasons we don’t like and want to forget. (from Rediscover the Dance, p56)

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    I don’t think I’ve welcomed you inside Pilgrim before. But here we are and maybe at some point I’ll take you on a tour, on another blog. It won’t take long; believe me. But here I am. I haven’t untangled the web of the kite string, but I do have a couple of thoughts to share with you (or maybe just one). I’ve had plenty of opinions in my life, even for God. I just knew that I could remind Him of things He hadn’t thought of to make my life a bit easier and have the outcome look a lot prettier than it did now and then. But at this age as I look back, I’m so impressed with His wisdom and understanding and that He didn’t need my counsel at all. In fact, in Romans chapter eleven it says, “Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable his judgements and his ways beyond tracing out. For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God that God should repay him? But of him and through him and to him are all things, to him be the glory forever, Amen. So when I need wisdom, I know I can go to God who’s not going to give me an opinion. He’s going to give me some rock-solid good wisdom. And He says, if you lack wisdom come to me and ask, and I’ll give it to you liberally. I’ll give all you need. But ask in faith. Don’t waver, because if you waver, you’re like the wave of the sea, driven with the waves and tossed. So, I’m just so excited—I don’t know, maybe not excited—I guess I’m humbled that the God of the universe would be so attentive to me and that I could ask Him for wisdom and know that I’m going to get more than an opinion. (from, Romans 11:33-36 and James 1:5)

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  • Island of Refuge

    Island of Refuge

    A spontaneous drive to the island of Chincoteague became a time of wonder on an unplanned boat ride at sunset. Thousands of birds flew past the boat for a night of rest and refuge on a small out-island. As full as the island got, there was still room for another flock to land. Like the birds, my soul seeks refuge some days. Refuge is a safe place—a haven for the soul where God prepares us to keep investing in the difficult chapters of our stories. It’s more than a passive place. Refuge is also a place of opportunity to trust, hope, pray, and (sometimes) mourn. We take refuge so that what happens to us does not become our identity, blinding us to treasure that is born out of trouble.

    The Treasure:
    Refuge is a sanctuary that becomes a launchpad. It transforms us to transcend stuck places, and to walk through thresholds with God into new seasons.
    (From Rediscover the Dance, page 108)

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  • Accordion Jig Time

    Accordion Jig Time

    I fell in love when I was eight years old … with the accordion. My parents suggested I choose a band instrument like the clarinet that they could rent for $25 dollars each year. But no other instrument could compare with my love for the accordion. The year I turned eleven, the squeezable love of my life came wrapped under the Christmas tree. It was a baby-blue kid-sized instrument with only twelve bass buttons. I was eleven years old. My mother drove me thirty minutes from the country to the city for my music lesson every Monday.

    Wally Piascik, my Polish accordion teacher was bigger than life. I can still picture Wally leaning out of the second story studio window, holding a cigar and calling to some friend on the street. He was serious about entertaining and played in a dance band on the ocean boardwalk. Back in those days I was terrified to play in public. But that didn’t matter to Wally. Whenever I performed, he made me memorize the piece, face the audience, and play standing up.  

    When my mother died decades later, I bought my first new Italian-made accordion in memory of her steady sacrifice. Maybe you can hear its rich musette tuning as I play an Irish Jig called the Eavesdropper in the video below. Wally’s gone now too, but I have the cherished gift of music, and a mom who poured more joy into my kid heart than I realized at the time. I love playing in a local folk band and in the praise band at the chapel where I worship. What I would have missed if my parents made me learn to play clarinet instead of investing in the joy of my heart! J

    The Treasure: Accordion wisdom: push less, pull more.

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    Hi! It occurs to me that my blogs can be a bit serious sometimes, so I decided to post a fun blog this time. Because after all, life is not always about the “teardrop.” It’s also about joy and fun. So, I’m going to play an Irish Jig for you—a fun song. I hope you like it.

    Be sure to put some fun in your day today!

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  • A Time to Heal

    A Time to Heal

    The surgeon told me, “Knee replacement surgery is an investment in your future.” So, I smiled and signed on the line. But I did not prepare for how the follow-up pain would scare me. I said to my physical therapist, “Please talk to me about pain and fear.” And this is the wisdom he gave: We fear physical pain because we associate it with damage or danger. That’s bad pain. Agreed. But the pain of physical therapy is not about damage or danger. It’s about deliverance—about removing the old that causes us to limp and replacing with new that empowers us to thrive. This good pain still hurts, but it is achieving something better. So, in physical therapy I find a focal point and breathe as the therapist takes my leg to an “impossible” bend.

    Likewise, we need a spiritual focal point when the troubles of life unsettle us. We breathe our requests to God. We allow doubt to drive us to find deeper answers for our faith. And we take heart that suffering is achieving something of eternal value that we would otherwise miss and may never see in this life.

    The Treasure:
    Therefore we do not lost heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving four us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary and what is unseen is eternal.
    (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    It’s been said that there’s a time for every purpose under heaven—a time for war, a time for peace, a time to be born, a time to die. In my own words, a time to go forth and have fun, and a time to stay home and heal. This is a time of recovery for me, a time of waiting for healing from total knee replacement surgery. I’ve been rather impatient, wondering if I will ever get full range of motions. The professionals say, “No worries. Just keep doing your exercises. Keep doing what you’re supposed to do.” This morning I’ve been thinking: What if this time of waiting is not just about the knee? What if it’s about listening … to God, listening to friends. What if it’s about rest. What if it’s about asking God for next steps, a time of personal inventory. If this is a time of waiting for you, I pray that you will have a gentle day and that God will give you peace.

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  • Bull’s-Eye

    Bull’s-Eye

    I ponder the power of seasons, months, or even the rustic smell of outdoors to spark strong memories. My husband Steve has increasingly entered my thoughts in recent days. It’s no wonder. Four years ago this week we drove to Vermont to pick up our teardrop camper for retirement adventures. It was a “bull’s-eye plan” formed during high elevation moments like when we looked out from the Rockies onto a future we thought was certain. Today the plan looks much different than we thought. Steve is in heaven and I’m traveling in the camper—without him.

    Actually, remembering Steve breathes life into me today. He’s still the “bull’s-eye” soulmate whose influence I carry in my heart—a gift of having been loved well. I remember the day Steve told me that this life is the only opportunity we have to trust God. As I continue to fight doubt and fear with hope and confidence, I can count on this: life will shake me to the core, but I can trust that God’s plan is a good plan with a future full of hope. Many of you have been the evidence of that hope to me.

    I believe living a “bull’s-eye” life is one with Jesus at the center of my being and all other facets of life finding their place within the surrounding rings. I’d love to hear your definition. In the three-second video below Steve and I had a “bulls-eye” moment that surprised both of us!

    The Treasure: “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)

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  • Renewal Within the Fence

    Renewal Within the Fence

    Several years ago I posted a video with my camper (affectionately named, “Pilgrim”) within the fence adjacent to my home. You’ll remember how steep the learning curve felt and how hesitant I was to take Pilgrim beyond the fence. Click here if you want to see that message entitled “Meet Pilgrim:” https://blog.dawnlinton.com/

    By now Pilgrim and I have been on some exciting treks together. But a recent surprise reminded me that protected time back within the fence is important too (see 30 second video below). In the relaxed interior of soul care God delights to bring new life to our spirits in preparation for enjoying next steps.

    The Treasure: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matthew 6:26-27 NIV)

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    Look at this. My propane heater, right within the fence where Pilgrim is was covered with a tarp that rotted. The weather just took it down and it kind of fell right down to the middle here and a mama bird took opportunity to lay her eggs right in this safe spot within the fence. It’s so fun to see new life right here – and she’s covered by the cover of the propane top. I can’t wait to see the babies.

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  • Balancing Act

    Balancing Act

    Unicycle riding has never interested me. I prefer two wheels under me, feet on the pedals, and hands on the handlebars. Even so, the unicyclist pedaling down a mountain road in Montana fascinated me and sparked enough interest to google a few details. Coaches instruct unicyclists to sit high in the saddle, use arms for balance, look ahead (not down), pedal continuously, and try to land on their feet by falling forward if they lose their balance. I’ll stick to my traditional bike, thank you. But when I catch sight of a unicyclist, I’ll admire all the practice and technique it took to equip him/her with such remarkable talent and endurance (see video). Albert Einstein spoke wisdom when he said, “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.” (Albert Einstein)

    The Treasure: For spiritual flourishing we do well to sit solid on the seat of God’s love, balance truth with grace toward others, continuously lean forward into His plans, and keep moving in step with the adventure of God’s Spirit in us. (John 3:16, John 1:14, Proverbs 29:11, Galatians 5:25)

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    This is a unicycle rider riding a unicycle down off of a mountain from Red Lodge. That’s crazy. One wheel. That’s an example of doing familiar things in different ways. Sorry I’m rocking this around because I’m driving my car just to keep up with him a little bit. He has to keep pedaling; he can’t coast on a unicycle. Look at the view he’s got though, coming down off of the mountain. That’s not one of my goals – to ride a unicycle. I wouldn’t mind coasting on my bicycle down off the mountain but … that’s crazy—crazy fun.

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  • Inverted Mountain

    Inverted Mountain

    Even a steep descent to the lowest place can transform the trajectory of our lives when we take the difficult journey with God. The premise of my book entitled Rediscover the Dance is that valleys of weeping yield tears that can become replenishing springs and a catalyst for post-traumatic growth (Psalm 84:5-6). In Chapter 9 entitled “Valley Momentum” we explore how putting Three Rs into action can keep us from getting stuck in valleys of weeping.

    1. Relinquish self-dependence for God dependence
    2. Remember God’s words
    3. Rely on God for outcome.

    Riding a gondola over the steepest part of a mountain in Colorado reminded me to thank God on the joyful heights and to trust Him in the scary chasms.

    The Treasure: When life feels impossible we may think, It’s over, But God says, We’ve only just begun.1

    1. Dawn Linton, Rediscover the Dance (Koehler Books, 2025), 138

    If you’d rather read than watch the video, here’s the full video transcript:

    I’m on one of the ski slopes at Beaver Creek in Colorado. The interesting thing about this mountain is that some people call it an inverted mountain which means the easier slopes (called green slopes) are at the top and the most difficult slopes are at the bottom. So, those of us who are more cautious skiers like myself take a gondola halfway up the mountain over the difficult slopes. Then we ski over to another chair lift and take that chair lift out of sight over to the top of the mountain which is about nine thousand feet. And so, we ski around on the top half of the mountain as long as we want to – just up and down the most beautiful and gentle green slopes. Then we get back on the gondola and come back into the valley over the difficult parts. As in life, it’s a lot easier to be at a higher elevation emotionally, spiritually, physically and to just be able to really enjoy the ease of life. Thank God we have ways to come down and tools for us to be in the valley as well. But thankfully today I don’t have to ski down a black diamond slope to get to the bottom where I head home in just a little while.

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