Come rest...

Dear God, come rest upon my family...may your comfort and peace rest on the grieving heart, the sorrowful soul...may Your heart weep with them, may Your arms gather them in close...May your hands dry the tears of the lost, the lonely and the alone...

In their need you find a home...you draw near to the broken, to the homeless heart...

May your grace abound, your love enfold...

Yesterday was a day of emotion, good and bad, high and low...so much laughter, surrounded by men discussing philosophically as we awaited the crews to begin to roll in for check out, for the end of their season of fire...I said nothing, listening and observing only...

A time came when a man of some importance spoke demeaningly to another gentleman, of travelling to Ireland as nothing but frivolous and a waste....wanton and ridiculous to harm the earth just to travel to another country, to what end?

Truth pulled me out of my seat...truth pushed words from my lips...kindness graced me with courage to speak in defence, in opposition...

I spoke of self-awareness, of education and a world bigger than ourselves...I spoke of love and knowledge...and then I walked out and away for lunch and wondered at the sheer need to speak, the compulsion to stand against the grandiose ego of the man in question.

I thanked God for His grace and His love...an opinion given with grace and dignity and kindness...I was ok...it sounds strange perhaps but I have lived under the thumb of an ego the size of the universe and just as empty...dear hearts, when you live under the constant and consistent denial of any thoughts outside their own, or pay the price... to stand and speak is a monumental step in the direction of healing, of progress, of growth and wisdom.

Oh, taste it and see it is good...the joy of freedom, the peace that washes in with the choice to stand tall, walk proud and speak truth with grace and mercy. No repercussions, no reprisals...only acceptance of self and love for others...love saves, everyday....

Today is my last day of deployment this season...I have learned so much, and am so very thankful for the opportunity to work in such a field. The excitement, the adrenalin, the forests and animals seen, the fire and heat so very close at times...worth every second of smoke and ash...worth each and every tired and aching muscle...worth every tear for the lost souls gone while fighting fires or travelling home...

Only God knows the order of our steps my friends....I shed worry, I drop anxiety and continue to walk through each day with thankfulness, with a grateful heart...

Most days I am successful in being present in each moment... in leaving the past far behind me...in leaving the future to enfold as it will...

The new faces, the new friends...the people deposited in my life who have so graciously and unknowingly lifted my spirits...the forever friends who love, who pray, who cherish...

My heart sits low as our family processes such a loss, but oh dear treasures...it is bearable with the comfort of God, of family, of friends new and old...

I would pray for your comfort today, wherever you may be in your journey...that comfort would surround and peace would fill every lonely and aching place within you....

May you go today with the sure knowledge of love, of grace, of mercy and compassion...for you, always...

May you hold your head high, may you stand tall, may you walk proud into today, carried by the love of a Father who never leaves nor forsakes...