I Do...

Thank God I do...thank God I have a love that surpasses, that envelops, that excludes while including....special and uniquely ours...I sit this morning wrestling with emotions, with knowing what to put to paper...what God? What do I share that will reveal, restore, renew minds that search for meaning, for a reason to keep breathing...

I sit in a chair given to me from a friend...in a home available to me when I needed it most from that friend...I use dishes that were bought at thrift stores and garage sales...from that friend...I sleep on a bed given to me....I use towels that were a gift....

I stand today and every day in humility...in thankfulness...in gratitude for all that has come to me...for a wonderful home, cozy with eclectic decor and rustic beauty and I shed tears of a thankful heart for all God has provided....I shed tears of exhaustion, pushed to the limits and then beyond emotionally, some days physically, mentally....

But oh dear hearts, dear treasures....I live... I live in freedom from pain created and caused by another....I live in freedom from trepidation and constant fear...I live and breathe and have my being....and I hope, and I pray, and I love and I grieve....oh I am thankful, so eternally grateful to a God who saw fit to save me, to reach down His mighty Hand and provide a way out...who provides meaning every day, who provides my reason for living.

Every day I am shown life, shown joy, shown grace and mercy and peace....

I stand today and speak life to the broken...there is hope...there is a better way, a loving way, a season of peace awaiting you...there is justice, truly....we may not see it, know it, feel it...but it is there. There is a way, God makes a way...for you, for me....to a life full of loving kindness and grace....and oh it is sweet...

'Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.' Psalm 34:8

Go today in the knowledge that you are loved beyond compare, beyond understanding...as wide and as deep as the ocean...bottomless, never ending love that envelops and comforts...love that brings joy, brings peace everlasting....

Stand tall dear treasures...walk proud and carry a big stick...speak your truth and know your worth....God has made you worthy of all that is good, of all that is beautiful and oh it mends the heart...it sustains the spirit...find your pain eased at the foot of the cross....cast your burdens down, lay them at the feet of a Father who believes in you, who loves you so unconditionally and without judgement, who knows your heart and sees your exhaustion, who knows your pain.

God bless you with comfort today and each day forward. May you know peace in the midst of chaos, joy in the midst of grief, love and laughter in the face of rejection and sorrow.