“Red Circle Days” By Leah Vidal

Today I am introducing you to a writer who has taken my breath away over and over again with her words…her powerful themes…and passionate messages.  Leah Vidal is a gifted soul, who blogs over at Little Miss Wordy.  If you haven’t received her profound gift via her blog, you will be happy to know that she also authored a beautiful book titled,  “Red Circle Days”.

Oh my heart…

“Red Circle Days” is one of those books you want to linger in for long.  I did just that.  One chapter slowly read, absorbed…processed…to then conclude my journey with a deep resounding “Aha moment.”  I love books like this, that provide such a powerful purpose.

Each chapter shares a story, an anecdote about her life where she transports us to her world full of memories and significant moments that mark something profound for her…and eventually for us too.  She captures a palpable substance that threads through her words as her perspective enlightens the reader from a different angle.  Life’s observations can either ignite a passion or a purpose… and Leah seems to be able to successfully embrace both.

At the end of every chapter, Leah asks her readers a question that takes a pivotal turn back to their own life, their purpose, their moments.  She presents herself as personal and she reveals private reflections that exhibit an open willingness to reach out and touch the reader with lessons learned, insights gleamed and new observations awakened.

Some of my favorite ‘book moments’ include a few lines that have left an imprint on my heart:

“Why do you wear that?”

-Taken from the chapter that resonates so deeply with me, Leah shares a phrase her “friend likes to use when someone comes to her whining about something someone else said or complaining about someone else’s behavior.”

She goes on to share this truth:

“On a daily basis, we run into people who say something hurtful or critical.   Some of us have people in our lives that are a reliable source for pointing out just what we are doing wrong….  “Issues” or “jabs” that we are so affected by aren’t ours… “Someone else” made the decision to carry them.  “Someone else” made the decision to fashion that stuff down the runway, not us.”

Oh, how I love this insight!  How many of us ‘wear’ someone else’s opinions?  We can choose to take them off, send them back, and keep our own wardrobe!  Removing those layers would certainly be like striping off filthy pieces of clothing that weren’t ours to begin with anyway.

It’s a beautiful perspective, isn’t it?

Linger here…

Another chapter that still echoes in my mind and tugs at my heart:

“All Grown Up”

Leah takes us into the hospital room of her dying father’s request to be home among his beloved family.  Leah claims this to be the day she had ‘grown up’, taking on the responsibility and sheer determination to get her father where he needed to be… home.  After she “Made all the necessary arrangements to transport him home”, he was ambulanced back to his loved ones surrounding him…

And after asking if all of his precious family was there, “he took a deep breath and finally went home.”

Leah describes this as the moment she grew up, a daughter able to fulfill her father’s last wish.

Oh my heart…

Each chapter calls for us to pause and linger…

These are just two “Red Circle Days” of many in this beautiful book.  It’s worth the read.  Promise.

You can go here to purchase your own copy, stick it in your car, your bag, or your purse- and take it out whenever you have a moment to linger.