Indio, CA: I was checking out the back of this 18 wheeler at the
Stagecoach Festival this weekend and loved the way the palm trees reflected off the shiny back. It made me think about how we look at things. One person can see something a certain way (as in, the lone palm tree, standing firmly on its own), yet when somone else views the same tree from the back of a tractor trailer, the sturdy creation now bends and grooves, as if it became a piece of taffy.
When I think of the women I have met at
Thistle Farms, I see strength and beauty and courage and humbleness. But when I hear what others think of them, it gives a new perspective to this small but powerful community.
The latest reflection about these incredible lives comes from a story in the
Washington Times. Writer Andrea Billups and photographer Barbara L. Salisbury spent 3 days in Nashville, meeting the women, listening to their stories and capturing some of their struggles and victories. Their article and pictures captures the complexity of the program as well as its simplistic bottom line:
love is the strongest force for change in the world. 
