Beauty....

One grizzled old codger...eight participants...dust, heat, poor air quality, bugs, the smell of fuel and exhaust, a sore brain pan from a hit to the head during baseball the night before and a 650 Can Am Outlander...priceless and a large slice of heaven on earth. Today I feel every inch of those 8 hours spent unloading, driving, and loading up at the end of the day but oh the joy and freedom that comes in doing something you love.

I took a moment yesterday to just sit and watch my comrades take their turn on the course and thank God for His blessings, for His provision, for His grace and for bringing me to this place, to a job that provides everything I love, that I find joy in. I was moved to tears of thankfulness as I sat in that heat, swiping at bugs the size of my baby toe and listening to the chatter round me, the laughter...as I swapped stories and jokes with the old instructor...as I reflected on the winding path that had brought me to this point.

Dear hearts...do not be fooled....the heart is still in the process of healing, of letting go...still in the process of mending and healing those broken places, the great rents in the fabric of my mind and spirit...but I would have you know this, that every point on the path is a milestones of progress, of forward momentum. I stumble, I fail, I fall...but I know that I am protected and loved...

Loved for the very things I was criticized for...

Loved for the quirks and eccentricities that make up who I am...

Loved for the very attributes I was hated for....the kindness, the compassion, the love for others, the love of laughter and seeing joy in those around me...

Loved....always...

Loved...unequivocally and irrefutably...

Dear friends...you are loved....always....you are precious, important and critical in someones life, though you may not see it, feel it or believe it...I pray the scales would drop from your eyes, that God would give you eyes to see your place on this earth and your place in His heart.

Necessary...needed....loved....

Your smile reaches the lost...the kind word to a stranger reaches down and pulls them from the mud and filth they have laid in, thinking themselves unseen...

You understand the broken....and more, you have a compassion and a grace unequaled for the weary spirit.

You are so very necessary in a world full of cruel words, unhinged rages, and foul lies. You bring light to the dark corners...you shine.

I beg you dear hearts to no longer allow anyone to dim that light, to tell you that you are nothing and no one....you see, the lies are the mirror to the truth...the lies are told to keep you in the pit....the lies are spoken to hide the truth, that you are truly special, wonderful and worthy of a real and true love.

What you have to give is precious...unique...

As you step out in faith, in hope, in love...your light will shine the brighter and will come back to you....as you give out love, give out kindness that comes from the sure knowledge of hate and misery and needing to balance it out with joy....you will see healing, you will feel the mending of your mind, body and spirit...

You are on the right path...the path of hope, of faith and of love....stand tall warriors and walk proud with your head held high, you are a daughter of the King, the most high.

Speak softly, with grace and dignity remember your place in this world. Your place as a light, no matter how dim you may believe that light to be at the moment. You matter...you are seen, heard and known.

Go with God today....my prayer for you would be that you would feel and know His presence in your life...that you would know his protection over you...His wrath for those who seek to maim, to kill your spirit....never alone dear hearts, never alone. Pick up those feet and walk that path, for your joy comes in the morning and your healing grows with each faithful step, with each breath of grace upon your head.

Bless you all...blessings of joy, of love, of laughter and a lightening of the load you carry upon your shoulders. “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalms 55:22

God Bless you and keep you this day....