The Journey

Photo by: Mark Basarab Have you ever wondered what makes you, well, you? What inspires laughter and what induces tears? How can something so trivial cut so deep or how such a minuscule gesture can warm your very soul? What makes your whole day bright and what can make for a stormy week? Those things that make your blood boil versus the action or person that can set you perfectly at ease? What makes you strong? What makes you weak? What gives you security rather than anxiety or confidence rather than inferiority?  I have questioned many of these emotions as the past few months have felt like a spiritual pruning, a stripping away. During the process, emotional and spiritual layers have been peeled back to reveal a person I do not like. A person I do not want to see. A person that I had hoped no longer existed. My heart doors slammed shut as fast as a security gate at the threat of a robbery and closed with a seal as tight as that of a bank vault door. ...

Photo by: Chris Lawton No words can be uttered when the proverbial final nail has been deliberately, maliciously, or even haphazardly hammered into the coffin. What is there to say? The end. Game over. Death. Seasons change bringing an end to one phase of life while ushering in a new beginning for the next phase of life. Sometimes we are not prepared for such a transition. Sometimes we pray for change. We often grieve with bittersweet tears either way. Unexpected, major shifts blindside and bring imbalance to otherwise steady ground because the humdrum of everyday life renders a false sense of security. Alas, life is a continuous cycle, ever-changing until death. Then I say, thankfully so, life is ever-changing. Otherwise, death might be forever, and resurrection cannot occur. As a small child, did you ever hide in a closet, a secret fort, or in a small space allowing complete d...