Better Places, Better Spaces...

It is with great pleasure I move and have my being; having found better places to spend my time, my energy, my love and kindness, having found better spaces to feel safe, loved, accepted, cherished and so much more. This is what we do my friends....we move from places and spaces that cut us to the quick, with lightning fast flicks of blade, word and deed.

We move from spaces that bring us low, oh so low....where the recipe of the day is filet Mo-gnon; spicy hot temper with a dash of raging inferno of fists and vitriol overflowing the pot it was thrown in...scenting blood in the water the cold blooded killer moves in for the final blow, served up as dessert to the main menu.

This morning as I sat and sipped my hot cup of heaven; in peace, in contentment and a heart of gratitude for all I have, for all I have traversed and encountered upon this path of healing and each and every growing pain felt to the core, I realized something quite profound. I want to feel...I now welcome the sorrow, the grief, the stages of healing, the pitfalls and traps along the way, the absolute down and out moments I lay, sit, stand and just cry out.

To miss out on these painful moments would mean missing out on the joy, the abundance of peace, the laughter that hurts facial muscles and rib busting belly laughs, the beauty seen in a sunrise unlike any other, in watching the sun slowly put itself to bed to allow the moon its time to shine.

Oh my friends...each moment is richer, full of colours so bright they blind the eye....

And so we move from wasteland to garden of Eden, from desert to land of plenty, jumping from oasis to oasis with occasional bouts of heat, of pain and grief. The scars will remain...the signs of battle worn proud, survivor of battles in a war we never signed up for.

A treaty was signed with lips of honey, words filled with hopes and dreams only to see it torn in half before your very eyes; one word, one fist, one betrayal in each increment.

Dear treasures, we are each of us made in God's image, fearfully and wonderfully created for purpose, for kindness, for love and compassion, grace and mercy. Each one chooses a path, forging a swath of goodness or evil...oh yes, there are some who do good who also choose unfavourable ways...we are multi-faceted creatures one and all, however, they are not evil creatures out to steal, to rob joy, to dominate and torment. They are a class unto their own and will reap judgement, here on earth or when they meet their maker.

Each day free, every moment I live and breathe in peace, the broken places are restored, knitted, re-made into something stronger, wiser...living in thankfulness to a God who never leaves us alone, who comforts, who loves always.

God bless your day and each day forward with more; more grace, more courage, more peace and the knowledge you are loved as you are, where you are.