Thursday, June 19, 2014

Winter

I quite like Winter. I like cuddling up on the sofa with my knitting and a blanket round my knees. I love to cook hearty meals in the slow cooker and have the aroma wafting through the house, making me excited for what is to come! 
I like the shorter days and having to put a coat on to go outdoors. I like the frosty mornings and cooking porridge on top of the stove. 
I love the look of the bare trees with tiny buds holding the promise of spring.
I am a fan of seasons!
In nature as in life. 
I love the stability of knowing after Winter comes Spring, then Summer and Autumn.
After night comes Day.
After nights of weeping and sorrow, there is promise of a new day. A new season of blessing.
All of this is as it should be.


“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” 
― Edith Sitwell




My daughter and I have been doing a bit of handcrafting, we love to keep our hands busy and creating is good for the soul !

 There are still a few things blooming in my garden, a few daisies and  the last of my roses and my beautiful Camellia flowers through winter...






“We all know that if the seasons were the same, there would be no growth. We know that without winter there would be no spring. We know that without frosts there would be no bulbs and without the monsoon there would be no rice harvest. In the same way, we also know that without sorrow there would be no joy. Without pain there would be no healing. I think that's precisely where the beauty comes in. It comes in through the fruit of the seasons. He has indeed made everything beautiful in its time.” 
― Naomi ReedMy Seventh Monsoon:




Tuesday, June 10, 2014

This place.


I have been thinking a lot about my journey through life and how I came to be where I am today. I've been thinking of my blessings but also my struggles which have all worked to bring me to this place. 
This place of healing, this place of joy, this place of doubt, this place of struggle, this place of sanctuary.
As a couple and as a family we have endured hardship. We have dealt with sickness and loss of income. We have struggled with mental health issues and we have dealt with betrayal and abandonment from those we trusted and loved. We have suffered many losses, due to circumstances beyond our control we needed to leave a place we called home for many years. 
It was hard. It took courage. It demanded lots from us. I have seen sorrow. I have felt angry and disappointed. But we did not give up or give in, we have fought and are still fighting for a good, purposeful life.  A life of love and generosity and kindness.
We have lost trust in some people but not in our Father, our God who continues to nurture and care for us. We see it in little things. We have felt the touch of His hand and know that even though we don't know why tough things have come our way, He has never abandoned us.
We have received good things from His hands..
We have the constant support of good and faithful friends and loving family. We have a delightful little grandson whom we treasure. We have this beautiful place to call home. A garden to work in and enjoy. We have enough. We are enough. He is enough.
I am in the process of healing. I am not there yet. I am learning to forgive those who wronged us and hurt us. I am not there yet. I am taking each day as it comes and I choose thankfulness and gratitude as a way of life.
I choose to see the beauty in the world, in my own small part of the world. I choose to move forward in grace and show grace to my fellow travelers on  life's journey. Because we have all had difficult things to deal with. Our stories are not that different. The details may vary but we are all in need of grace and patience and kindness.



 Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage

 and makes us strong again.” 

― Anne Frank







“Courage doesn't always roar.

 Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day 

that says I'll try again tomorrow.”



― Mary Anne Radmacher









“Have enough courage to trust love one more time and 

always one more time.” 

― Maya Angelou