You know the drill. We get our weekly prompt, let the spirit flow for five minutes, post, link up in the Community section at www.fiveminutefriday.com, and — best part — visit other writers in our to support and encourage them. Yes. It’s Five Minute Friday time!

For the past few months, I have also been sharing testimonials from writers as outlined in Five Minute Friday: A Collection of Stories Written in Five Minutes Flat. This week, I’ll share some words from Mary’s heart.

“At the suggestion of a friend, who is much farther along this path we are on, I checked out Five Minute Friday. Shortly after this conversation, I joined the Thursday night Twitter party and tried my hand at writing for five minutes on the given prompt. The beauty of this community is that even though prompts are given and the timer is set for five minutes, our lives are connecting for a lifetime. I have been blessed by beautiful friendships, many of whom I have had the the honor of meeting in person. Our lives are woven together because of our mutual love of writing but our hearts are forever connected because of the life we share Thursday nights at the Twitter party.”

All it takes is to start. Why not take the plunge? I promise there are no recriminations, no wrong posts … only a loving community of fellow writers spilling their heart through their fingers.

The prompt this week is JUST. The timer is set, so it’s time to GO …

I remember the conversation. I was gently chiding a friend who felt demoralized as a mother … or as she had stated “just being a mom.” I  was telling her how much more than just a mom she was. She was the family coordinator … the key that keeps the family together. “Don’t you ever call yourself ‘just a mom’. You are so much more. This is what you were created for.”

Fast forward a couple of years. My girls were hailing me as a “hero.” No. No. No. I’m no hero, I insisted, I’m just that ordinary Joe walking through this life and sharing it with my family and friends. Immediately — I mean almost before the words were transmitted through space — I received a rebuke from one of my followers. “Don’t you ever refer to yourself as ‘just’ an ordinary Joe. You are special. You were created for this time and place … and it’s part of my life, your girls’ lives, your friends’ and followers’ lives. Celebrate it and don’t you ever call yourself … STOP

… ‘just’ anything.”

I was right. My critic was right. We are not “just” anything. We are uniquely made and wired for this time and place in human history. And don’t you forget it. I know I sometimes do.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: We will be known forever by the tracks we leave behind. — Lakota Sioux proverb