Tyra Garlington | Tyra Garlington

Fallen but not forgotten.

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Pause with me to appreciate the legacy left by the brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Then from your grateful heart declare, “I thank you for your service!” ― G.K. Chesterton says “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” That would be us. Then again what about the warriors who come home with both invisible and visible wounds? Their wounds belong to all of us. They deserve our compassion and empathy. They deserve our look and see and not our look away. They deserve our fix to……
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Did you know little girl blue?

Posted on May 19, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

She was beautiful. She was a petite three-year-old. She loved Dora the Explorer. They had the same big brown eyes. Unlike Dora, she rarely spoke. I was on my way to choir rehearsal and decided to stop by and see the new affordable housing unit her family called home. We had worked so hard to get them qualified and moved in. We had successfully used eBay and some of our own belongings to nicely furnish the new apartment. She and her older brother were playing on the stairs of the apartment building. When she saw me coming she began to……
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Do you feel like you are second in line?

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

What if I told you there is no line? There is you and your dreams and your talents and your hopes. There is your pain, your sorrow and your shame. Then there is your purpose, the reason you are on this earth. Purpose is that for which we are designed. That for which we are perfect. Purpose is our what, our when, and our how. It is knowing why we are. Our generation is evidence this generation needs something that our life contains. Our birth is evidence that our purpose is necessary. And yet many of us go through life……
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Sometimes exhaustion is the first step forward.

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Have you ever been tired? I mean tired to the bone? I had an unsettling conversation with a friend at lunch this week. At some point she stopped eating and said, “Tyra I am exhausted! I am tired of being tired.” When she did, I could actually feel her pain. I sat silent remembering those words coming from my own mouth a few years ago. She went on to say that she didn’t know why she was so miserable. She loved teaching at the community college, even though she no longer had time to write poetry, which was her passion.……
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Do you have a special needs child?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

My friend does. As I watched her accept the news and then wait, I realized what a wonderful person she was. She defined her special child as a “priceless blessing” and she was the perfect steward. I wanted to support her in every possible way. I needed more information. I was inspired by the following article from a mother raising a child with intellectual disabilities. Emily Perl Kingsley wrote this article to provide an encouraging and alternative perspective. It reads: WELCOME TO HOLLAND “I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability – to……
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Are you Daddy’s little girl?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I’m writing this on my Daddy’s birthday. He died in 1976. Each year I write him a letter on his birthday. I celebrate his ongoing encouragement that helped me walk into my purpose. Today I write to you about him. Maybe you will find your father somewhere in what I am about to say. I hope that you can appreciate that even as a mature woman, I have moments when I feel like Daddy’s Little Girl. I discovered that Daddy had special insight about how to nurture me through difficulties as well as help me dwell in possibilities. I did……
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Who is the person sitting next to you?

Posted on April 6, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Have you ever sat on a plane or in a park, or at a meeting and wondered “Who is the person sitting next to you?” You can see how tall she is and the color of her hair or skin. You may have heard her in conversation with someone that helped you discover more. But just imagine that nine-tenths of her possibilities have not yet been touched off. There is all kind of “good” that is struggling to be born from way inside. There are also worries, fears, doubts, that are wondering how to be expressed. Deep within her is……
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Forgiveness will break your fall.

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

When I answered the phone he said, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” His voice and his words brought back a flood of memories and emotions. It had been three years. When we met I was working on temporary assignment in California. We had a wonderful two weeks. We said goodbye at the airport with the promise of an upcoming summer visit. All plans were final for our next adventure and I was so excited. He would pick me up at the airport at the appointed time and we would continue to explore our budding relationship. At the appointed time, he……
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God is an efficiency expert.

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

Did you know that God is an Efficiency Expert? My attention was drawn to the conference room door. She entered so regally dressed in her country’s ethnic attire that her petite frame appeared seven feet tall. Her bright almond shaped eyes were wide with anticipation. Her lying smile said, “I am so glad to be here.” She was one of the guest speakers for the leadership program day entitled: “Living below the Poverty Line.” One of the program committee members ushered her to a seat next to me. I was her host until her time to speak. I smiled a……
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Where is the love you said you would give to me?

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Tyra Garlington • 0 Comments

I have a confession to make. I’m a romantic. I grew up listening to “happily ever after” stories. I believed the lyrics of the sixties love songs. My prince charming rode his white horse through my dreams at night. And I used to write to him in my journal. When I did marry, I found out that those love songs were about someone else’s dreams. To come true would take two willing people and a lot of blessings to fulfill their promise. I stayed in my marriage too long after I realized it would not be a happily ever after……
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