Simple

It is so easy...so very easy to be kind....a moment only, a gesture, a smile, a kind word....

It takes work to be angry, negative and cruel.

It has been weeks of adventure with little to no time off and as I sit and contemplate this morning over my habitual cup of heaven I laugh softly at my bewilderment....the 'why am I feeling so tired,' has been oftentimes on my mind this last week or so. As I walked the dog down the lonely, beautiful country road...gazing at old outbuildings and barns in disrepair to my left and the small herd of goats to my right....breathing in the cool morning air, breathing deep of the velvet evening breeze...physically tired, in a good way...after a hard days work, standing back and viewing the job completed with pride and joy...a good tired....

The true exhaustion comes from emotion....from grief...from frustration...waves crashing against the shore of your mind...storm or gently lapping at the edges wearing away the foundation until calm resides once more.

Anger...bitterness....resentment...the darker emotions take mighty chunks with each crash, with each hit...

Betrayal...lies...brutality...neglect and abandonment...traumatic events create tsunamis of epic proportion, beating at the very pilings and integral structures of your mind.

Until....until for a time you are swept away, pulled out to sea...lost amid the waves and blowing wind...lost....adrift....

Until...until God comes in like a flood and calms the seas, speaks to the oceans with a word and brings peace...brings rest...brings relief....

Dear hearts...in the heart of that storm, you are seen, you are heard...you are loved, cherished and accepted...and never alone, never.

There is so much more to your story...so much more...you may be blind to it right this moment...lost in the dark, in the deep, in the depths of despair...

We are here to tell you that you are going to make it...each one of us that has made it out, made it away from the hell and torture...there is life, abundant life...there is joy, oh joy unspeakable right down to the roots...healing and coaxing life from ashes, from dust, from brokenness...

More...there is truth...there is clarity...may the mighty wind of God fill your life and blow to the four corners of the earth; confusion, stupefaction, bafflement, disorientation.

May you see with truth...may you see beyond the mask, the veil....may you see your worth, your grace and beauty...they are not your problem to solve dear treasures, it is time to lay down that responsibility. May God deal with them...set them on a path of discovery...

Dear friends, it all comes down to choice...sorrow to fill oceans comes with the realization that they make daily, minute by minute decisions to be horrific people...choosing violence, choosing pain and fear-mongering....is that behaviour worthy of love, worthy of grace?

Oh my heart aches to stand on the rooftops and proclaim truth...to shine a light on the shadowy places, the lies and corruption...exposing the monsters within.

My prayer for you today dear treasures....is that you would be given the grace, the courage and the strength to truly see the true man/woman behind the mask....the wisdom and craft to make your way safely...

Stand tall warriors...your past is behind you, the future is uncertain and malleable...you can do anything you put your mind to, you are intrinsically capable...you have lived, crawled, stood, fallen and stood once more among live mine fields...never certain of where to place your feet for fear of upcoming explosions.

Oh yes, that woman/man is able to face down the worst life has handed them...rise up Queens/Kings, rise up and find your place in this world...you belong, you are necessary and needed, wanted, accepted....

God Bless you today and each day forward...with grace, with mercy and with compassion for yourself...be kind to you, be patient with yourself...one step at a time, gaining ground with each move forward until you stop and turn to gaze upon the miles you have conquered.

You are worthy....