Words....

Words sit upon my tongue, within my heart waiting to trip over onto the page...many times on the way home from work, after a hot, sweaty day...my mind races with thoughts of fulfillment in the job, in the knowledge being gained, in the skills being acquired...thoughts of God's goodness and His healing touch...in the beginning...there was pain, a lot of pain...sore muscles, sore back, sore joints and I prayed...and I asked for healing and spoke life to these bones in God's name...and some days I felt unsure whether I would make it...

Oh the heart of thankfulness that resides within...the gratitude expressed yesterday evening in the shower to my body for being strong, for not giving up, for doing the incredibly hard physical work I've asked of it...the love and thankfulness to a God who has guided my every step...for the gift of life, of love, of work that brings more fulfillment to my spirit than anything that has gone before....

This my dear friends...dear treasures each one...this is the light at the end of the tunnel....and I am content...oh I have dreams, and goals and highfalutin plans...but I have learned to live in each moment...to be present and to find peace and contentment where I stand right now....

Dear hearts...the heart can be mended....stronger and capable of more love than I ever thought possible...in the midst of the storm of sorrow and grief I could not see...I could not grasp this concept...the concept of life after death of a dream...oh it burns down to ash and sifts through the fingers to be lost on the winds of change....but behold dear lost ones, new life springs up with the watering of the soul...with the input of kindness, of compassion, of forgiveness and love from yourself first and then others...a smile from a stranger, a kind word from a co-worker, the compliment from the gas jockey as she sees your face often enough to recognize you in a small town, the 'I love you so much mom' from my son...oh each word, each gesture a drop of life in the garden of your soul....your spirit will soak it all in and treasure each moment as the richest of times....

The pain and agony that has come before stands to showcase the beauty that you find on the outside of that garbage, that mess you've escaped from....do not be fooled my friends...I experience intense times of grief, of loss, of sorrow...but joy comes in the morning...each day I rise to greet the day in freedom is a win, a triumph of epic proportions...

I would speak truth to you....there is life....good, good, good life waiting for you....beauty and grace await your steps...growth comes in waves as the path is walked, as the journey begins and continues...never ending until we do...that is our place on this earth, to journey in love and grace...to journey in wisdom and knowledge...ever seeking, ever curious, ever needing to experience, to see and know what this life has to offer. We were created to be just as we are...fearfully and wonderfully made...in His image. You...each one of you special and unique in your own way...like snowflakes falling in the winter, no two are the same....

Go today and everyday forward, in grace...in mercy for where you are...right now...and in the knowledge that you will not stay there. Life is growth...life is in a constant cycle of movement..there is so much waiting for you my friends...so much. I pray for courage today...and for the strength to do what is necessary in your situation....I pray for wisdom and cunning, yes even cunning....those who do not know the chaos and torture and fear that comes with captivity may see that word as sneaky...but not so...

Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16

Be wise dear hearts...speak your truth and stand for you...its time....

God go with you today and every day forward...cloaking you in grace and mercy and His unending love...