Saying goodbye to Miss Daisy’s Petals

I started laughing as I wrote the title for this final blog post, as some of you may be thinking “hasn’t this blog died already?”

That’s how absent I have been…

Well today is the day that I officially say Goodbye to Miss Daisy’s Petals.

Why? You may ask (or not)

I started this blog in 2013 when I first moved to Wales. I love to write as a form of expression and I wanted to document this huge journey I was embarking on. I wanted to share the lessons I was learning living in a new place alongside my experience of growing as a Christian and as a woman.

That was 10 years ago, and as you can imagine a lot has changed since my first blog post, and Miss Daisy’s Petals just no longer represents the Daisy I am today.

I think things were coming to an end around 2019/2020 and if you have been following this blog you would have noticed that I started to write less. I         started to focus more on Instagram and YouTube as I felt maybe more visuals is what Miss Daisy’s Petals needed. Looking back I think I was just delaying the inevitable because by 2021, I more or less abandoned all my platforms as I just couldn’t connect with Miss Daisy’s Petals anymore.

This blog website is extremely outdated (cringe), and in 2022 I began playing around with the idea of rebranding and revamping the blog. I even hopped onto Instagram a few times announcing my comeback, but I was never able to follow through.

By the end of 2022 a lot had changed and so many things came to an end.

• My singleness – I blogged a lot about singleness but I am married now! I married the most caring, honest and kind God-fearing man in July 2022. I shared a photo on my Insta stories to everyone’s surprise :)

My husband and I on our wedding day 💗

• I moved out of Wales! Literally on the 31st of December 2022. This was a HUGE change for me as I had lived in Wales for 10 years and it was the one place that truly had my heart. However I knew, even outside of getting married, that my time in Wales had to come to an end.

• Lastly, I experienced a very painful friendship breakup that was literally life changing. Life changing in a sense that it marked a turning point for me,  as I had to finally confront my avoidance, people pleasing, tendency to walk on egg shells and operate out of fear and anxiety. I know this sounds like a lot but this was my default and something drastic needed to happen to allow me to see it. The friendship breakup was incredibly difficult to go through and caused a blight on what was supposed to be a beautiful first few months of marriage.

The many endings of 2022 made me reflect on this blog, and I realised what Miss Daisy’s Petals needed wasn’t a rebrand, it needed to come to an end.

New beginnings

2023 is a new beginning for me and I want to fully embrace the newness of this season, and no longer hold onto the things that represent all that has ended.

Writing for this blog has been a tremendous blessing and I want to thank all who have taken the time to read my posts over the years and those who have supported by sharing, commenting and liking the blog posts. It’s not easy putting yourself out there on the internet but you have all been so positive and kind and I am so grateful!

What’s next?

I am still your girl! The journey continues and I will be making a comeback. There will be a new name, a new website and some new content! I am so excited to share this phase of my life with you.

Please sign up to my mailing list for details of the website launch, otherwise you can follow my Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or Facebook page (hurry, before the name changes) as I will be making announcements on there.

Goodbye Miss Daisy’s Petals…

You will be missed.

Last few months in Wales

…old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Daisy ♥  

Choosing to love always: A small brush with racism

I want to share an experience I had a few weeks ago and to tell you how God turned things around in order to teach me an enduring life lesson. What I share is not intended to be an attack on any individual or group of individuals (as I love you all J) but I believe that if you have ever experienced hateful/abusive words, looks, actions etc you can definitely relate to this post and I hope we can agree on the conclusion of the matter.

So here’s how the story goes….

It was Sabbath (Saturday) and after church some friends and I planned to attend another church to help out with their afternoon health program. I wasn’t too sure where the church was so I decided to follow behind my friend’s car; my friend is known for being a fast driver so I wanted to stay as close as possible to their car. We stopped at a roundabout and my friend was able to go straight through but I had to stop. While I was waiting to go through a young couple with a baby decided to cross the road, the woman ran across with her pram and then the man began to walk across very slowly (remember this isn’t a pedestrian crossing so I had right of way). I started to creep forward not to imply “hurry up I’m going to run you over” but to try and catch up with my friend as my mind was so focused on not being left behind. He finally got to the other side and I prepared to race off when I heard in my left ear all sorts of profanity and the sentence “Can’t you wait you stupid black *blank*!” as I sped away.

I felt like it all happened in a split second and within that time I managed to catch a glimpse of his face and he looked extremely angry! My initial reaction was “Wow! How come I didn’t react or retaliate??”  I wondered if the man even questioned whether I heard him.  It definitely was God’s grace that came to my aid because I know my natural response would have been to turn the car around (somehow) and confront him or call the police – basically make an extremely big deal out of the situation. So I was very encouraged and thankful to God for helping me deal with the situation in the best way. However as I continued driving hurt and sadness began to sink in, I began to remember a conversation that I had with a friend that very week. He was telling me that he has experienced a lot of racism while living in Wales and I was telling him that I find the people here, from young to old, to be very friendly and loving and that I have never experienced racism or any form of abuse since moving here. In fact I realised that I have never directly experienced any form of racism.

Ok…I know some may look at this situation and think "He just called you a black “something” it's hardly racial abuse" but what that man wanted to do was to curse me and show his displeasure and anger and my race was a platform for that and that is what I found hurtful. I was reasoning in my mind if I did do something stupid it would be because I am a stupid person not because of the colour of my skin. However hate doesn't reason like that, it merely seeks to hit you where it hurts. I know I am not completely blameless in this story as I know that creeping forward was what set him off.

The next day was very challenging for me as I kept on hearing his sentence over and over again in my mind and imagining his angry face. I experienced many emotions that day as I went from upset to OK to angry and almost hateful. I began reasoning in my mind that maybe I shouldn’t go into work as I felt my colleagues just tolerated me but deep down didn’t really like me or want me there.

*Note – Be careful with evil thoughts, they are not your thoughts and if you ponder on them they will become your own thoughts and you will begin to believe things that are wholly untrue and irrational.

Providentially I watched an online news special that day which was showing an African American lady being extremely hateful towards a white American who went into her barber shop to meet her African American boyfriend. It wasn’t a nice thing to witness and towards the end of the report I thought to myself “Right, that’s enough!  Everybody has a choice and this is mine – I will not, in fact I refuse to participate in someone else’s hate when the option to love is there, so I choose to love.” All hate does is breed more hate for example the man at the roundabout showed hatred towards me, then I take that and go on to pass that onto my colleagues at work and then they go on to pass it to many others. I honestly can’t be a participant in that; it takes too much time and energy and strips you of your peace.

 

 

Yes hateful words and actions do hurt and cause pain but so do hateful responses. We may think “Yes I’ve got that person back, and showed them what I am made of!” but has responding in the same way provided any consolation?  Are we any happier now?

God took this lesson beyond race and my experience that Sabbath and challenged my thinking even further with this scripture –

For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Luke 6:32-37  

 

True love is distinctive and goes beyond that which is reciprocated. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can “love” those who love them back and treat them well but the love that conquers all can love irrespective of cold and callous treatment. This is a hard concept to come to grips with and challenging but nevertheless it is very true and attainable and I believe that Christ can make this kind of love a reality in our lives...if we choose.

As hurtful as my experience was I believe God allowed it to happen to show me what it really means to love and to challenge me with these questions (join me and ask yourselves these questions too) -  Do I choose to love always? Do I combat hateful behaviour with love? Do I draw warmth from the coldness of others? Is my response to sinful or hateful behaviour telling of the Christian faith I profess?

There is so much hate in this world and much more to come. There’s not much we can do about that but we do have a choice! So let’s choose to love…always.

 

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Luke 6:27-28

 

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

 

I’ve moved house by the way…

Sorry! I’ve been so busy I forgot to mention it.

The decision to move house came because I wanted to be closer to work. Though Llangammarch Wells was a dream location (see pictures here http://missdaisyspetals.blogspot.com/2013/03/goodbye-ammanford-hello-llangammarch.html and http://missdaisyspetals.blogspot.com/2013/03/snow-day.html ) my journey to work was 1hour and 20 minutes each way, and as you can imagine doing this 5 days a week was incredibly exhausting and also very costly. I also moved house because I wanted to experience having my own home as a single person and to learn how to build and run a home.

So in September I traded the farm lands of Lllangammarch Wells for the grass lands of Tonna, God has blessed me with a bungalow in this quiet village. Though I live in a bungalow I still have a fair amount of stairs, my house is up on a hill so there are steps leading up to my house (which is great fun when I come home with bags of shopping) and more steps to get to my garden.  I haven’t yet explored the area fully but according to a few maps I’ve looked at there are some amazing walks and beautiful waterfalls close by.

When I get a chance I will upload some pictures of the house/area for you to look at. Till then here’s a little sneak peek.

Side view 

Don’t be a stranger, come visit sometime.

My mum bought me these beautiful flowers for my new home x

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Snow Day!

With spring at our doorsteps, I was surprised to wake up yesterday morning to see the whole land covered in snow. The country track that leads from our house to the main road was covered in a few inches of snow which meant that we were practically snowed in. My first thoughts were about us not being able to go to church or go out on the Sunday as planned,  then I began to worry about how long we would be snowed in for and whether I would be able to go to work on Monday.  I started to get upset and panic about the snow but God reminded me of this scripture in Job.

Job 37:5-7 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. He sealeth up the hand of every man; that all men may know his work. 

It made me realise God allowed it to snow, he knew that we had our own plans for the weekend and that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere because of the snow. Maybe he had another plan for our weekend, maybe he just wanted us to stay at home,  relax and ponder on his word. I was comforted by this thought and decided to go for walk and actually enjoy the snow (and take pictures too!).

It’s been nice staying at home for the past two days. Also the farmer and his son offered to tow my car up to the top of the track, so I guess tomorrow it’s back to the real world for me……would it be weird if I wanted it to snow again?

Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥

Don't let the smile fool you, I was FREEZING!!!!!

Goodbye Ammanford, Hello Llangammarch Wells

Goodbye Ammanford

Last day at the house

The moving van

Our living room (Didn't manage to get a picture of it before the move but it was beautiful!)

Our Kitchen and dinning area (I'll never forget the delicious meals, talks and laughs we had here)

Taking my bed apart :-(

Children and brethren working together :-) 

Time to say Goodbye :-(

Hello Llangammarch Wells 

The entrance to our house

The front of our new house




















Our new living room, ready for us to make some new memories!

New kitchen and dining area 

  The view from my bedroom window (it will probably look better in the summer, but still love it!)

  More views from our new house

 
Living in Llanagammarch Wells, for the past month has been an interesting and different experience. We live next to a sheep farm so we often get the sheep sneaking into our gate and leaving their mess! We also have to wear Wellington Boots just to go outside, collect wood for the fireplace, use torches outside when it's dark and our nearest supermarket is a 30 minute drive away! Sometimes, I wish I could just close my eyes and be back in our home in Ammanford, but every time I see the beautiful scenery during the day, the stars at night and hear the sound of the river, I realise this is where I need to be.

It is beautiful here in Llanagammarch Wells and it has been a joy living here so far. Come visit me sometime :-)

 Love, your girl forever,

♥ Miss Daisy ♥ 

2012 has gone into eternity, but the lessons still live on.....

I remember New Year’s Day 2012, I posted a Facebook status saying “2012: this is the year my life will change!” I wrote this trying to be deep and profound but at the same time knowing that issues from 2011 would reach their conclusion in 2012 and as a result big changes would occur. However the changes I was to face in 2012 were much greater than I had anticipated.

So much happened in 2012 but on this occasion I will share with you two events.

Firstly, I lost a friend that was dear to my heart. OK, no one died! But it felt like it. This was someone who I thought would be in my life forever, but this was no longer the case. It was very hard for me to see my life without them, so, much of my 2012 was spent in much sadness and disappointment. God, however is so good because he has brought me much peace and comfort through this situation, which is such a blessing because there was a time when I thought the pain of the situation would never pass. In God’s providence this situation did bring me closer with an unexpected friend. My friend Sophie and I were acquainted but hardly spoke, however God used her to bring much joy and happiness during my “great loss”. Her friendship, her counsel, her kind words and many ways to make me laugh have blessed me beyond words. When I think about Sophie the phrase “she gets me” comes to mind. Truly the Lord gives beauty for ashes!

Another drastic change I faced in 2012 is my move to South Wales. I made a promise to God that after I finish my final year of university I would move out of London and live in a more rural area. When I prayed that prayer, Wales was not on the agenda. However it was in the Lord’s order that I should be in Wales (I’ll save this experience for another blog post!). My move to Wales was somewhat radical; I literally packed up and moved with very little money, no job and very little security (I wouldn't advise anyone to do that!). However since being here in Wales, God has blessed me tremendously. The scenery is breath taking and I have met people here that I have grown to love very much. It has been trying at times but God has always brought me through! I have always considered myself as a Londoner through and through, but here in Wales…I feel at home.

The biggest lesson I've learnt in 2012 is to ‘Embrace every gift that God gives us, including loss’. Yes, loss is a gift! When God takes something away from us or we have to yield up something to him, it causes us to learn how to put our trust in his judgement and leading and the gains and blessing we receive from doing this is more than we could have imagined or asked for. My dear friends, through any loss, keep trusting, keeping praying, keep hoping and keep believing! In his time he will bring restoration and make things beautiful again.

Love your girl forever

♥ Miss Daisy ♥