Linda Bittle - West Plains, Missouri 65775

This is Not Where I Thought I Was Going

Life IS hard and messy and beautiful. Embrace it all.

#8-Elephant Ride

In Civil War times, I’ve read, men would speak of “going to see the elephant”. They were going to experience battle for themselves. Some things are so large that they can’t be explained. They can only be understood through living…
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#7-Harvest Interlude

A garden, even a small one, needs tending when it needs tending. It’s harvest time for my little garden and I’ve been the grateful recipient of a bounty of fruits and vegetables from the gardens of friends and coworkers. My…
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#6-Saved By a Book Club

After my husband left I felt adrift and knew I had to find something to tether me to the world or I might just float away. A book club was the first thing that saved me.  But then, books always…
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#5-Defy Expectations

My friend Sally likes to say that I saved myself. I don’t think that’s entirely true. Instead, I see how God used a bunch of unusual experiences to get me ready to defy the expectations that are put on a…
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#4-Perspective is Key

The perspective comes here. By leaving, he freed me from the life I thought I’d have.

#3-Love, As I See it

Lest you think I don’t believe in love, let me tell you about my grandparents… Given that my first two posts went from serious to worse you might think that I’ve never seen love. You would be mistaken. And that’s…
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#2-Endings, or How the Damage Occurs

I’m not great at endings. Even the ones that I choose are difficult. The ones that have been forced upon me have been especially challenging. I don’t know how to mourn when things end abruptly. I was in 3rd grade…
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#1-Wildfire, or Welcome to My Blog

How does a Missouri farm girl wind up in Idaho watching the smoke from a wildfire that threatens to consumer her adopted town, anyway? That’s a complicated question. The simplest answer is that my husband made plans that did not…
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