Summer Heat...

Heat so pervasive you can smell it, air so warm breathing it in is akin to swallowing down hot tea...a dip in the Cheslatta River to cool off and consequential soul satisfying wind on wet skin...after a physically demanding day of building in 30+ degree weather it was agreed by the crew and I, that swimming was the best way to cool down in that beautifully cold mountain river and plunking down on a sandy beach to enjoy the wind on sun-kissed wet skin. Everyday I give thanks for the opportunity to do what I do...to work amidst God's finest part of creation...to see wildlife trotting down dirt roads before darting off into dense forest...the short visit with an elderly man who had been in that part of the country over 50 years before...laughing with crew over nonsensical things, deep conversations while on the road...and I thank God...with a grateful heart I view the path that led me here to a job that adds to skills and teaches new ones, creating a confidence that had suffered greatly....

A grateful heart for the acceptance of crew members...for who I am, not what I can do. Simple isn't it? Pared down, acceptance is simplistic and yet all encompassing.

There are no parameters for affirmation, no rules...just being you in all your wonderfulness....

As the days of summer fly by I take time to just soak it in...and seek within. I reflect on the work relationships that I have been building on since I started, and I see growth...I see self-confidence rising to such a degree that I worry no longer about what others think...I am content...at peace...with me.

Dear hearts...this is your fate as well, as you walk along your own unique path, your special journey will bring you to peace...to joy...to hope renewed and faith rejuvenated.

While there are low moments along this journey we call life, free from fear...it becomes the exception, no longer the rule...ruling your life now are faith, love, hope and joy...replacing fear, replacing anxiety and sorrow, replacing grief as deep as the ocean...instead we dive into cold clear waters of clarity, of peace and contentment...seeing the past for what it is, what it was...fully part and parcel the responsibility of the abuser...dirty, sick, perverted, dark and dismal waters repeatedly pulling you under...drowning you in shame, in guilt, in grief.

We see clearly the path of the monster...laid out in blacks and greys, in sharp relief...a path of destruction, of chaos, of rejection of all that is light and good.

There is so much for you my friends...waiting on your steps, on your courageous stepping off of that dark path...the light waits for you, wishing to bathe you in radiance once more...to showcase joy, peace and freedom from fear. For you...never forget that you are loved, as you are. Loved always...seen, heard and known...there is no depth God will not plumb to find you, to release you from the bowels of hell, from the darkness that surrounds you minute by minute each day. You are seen...and loved without measure...you are heard...your cries for release, for salvation from your unique situation are heard by God...the waymaker, miracle worker...He will make a way dear hearts, dear lost and broken ones...this I know, for I was heard and a way was made...

Go with God today and everyday and know your place in this world...necessary, needed and wanted...You are fearfully and wonderfully made...worthy of all that is good and lovely. Walk it out my friends...walk out your journey in faith for a better life, for a life filled with joy unceasing...