Sunday Morning

The sun rose without much fanfare. Yellow ball rising in the east, cloudless sky. A stillness in the air for now, wind later we are told. Freckles barking in her crate, she is sure its time to play and run through the grass. Emery munching on dried fruit as he brings the fire in the wood stove to life. The floors are cold. There are baby things all around my living room, proof positive of our grandparenthood. There is no perfection of style, no magazine look, just real life, a lived in look. Signs of love and living. Books here and there, something needed to be looked up the old fashioned way, in a book, not on line. Another book set down on the cedar chest to be picked up whenever a quiet moment arises. My coffee cup, over sized with the hot steaming brew ready to be enjoyed, after its cooled down some. Incense burning, smoke curling, exotic smells filling the room, mixing with the smell of woodsmoke, a bit like me, old homestead-like but with a touch of far off places and dreams.
There is a gentleness of this young day...a peace that has filled each and ever corner with contentment. A feeling of accomplishment, living my life with a bigger purpose then just getting what I want. It is tangible, visible. Yesterday and the day before, Melanie, Casi and their friend Matt were here helping prepare for the goat. Giving of their time, their energy to help me move wood from one barn to another, to put clips on the fence posts. Melanie hayed the barn, like she has done so many times in her childhood. I felt such love in their work. Steven is bringing the goats to me tomorrow night. Melissa has helped even from afar. Sharing her wealth of information with me, reminding me of things I need. Emery, my dear gentle man, his work, his love made visible to me. His tender glances across the handles of the post hole diggers. His amazing craftsmanship evident in his work. This is what life is about for me, these things. This is what fills up the spaces in my day, and in our home. A quiet joy, not the jump up and down kind of thing, there are those moments too, but mostly in our lives there is this blanket of deep joy that warms us, carries us through things like an ambulance taking a sick baby to the hospital. There is a faith too, faith that God does not wish us harm. There is faith in good. God is not mean. He doesn't have to slap us around with bad things to teach us a lesson. That kind of thinking, gives you a very harsh idea of what God is. I was thinking the other day, God doesn't MAKE us do anything. We all know that. Yet somehow we buy into the idea that Satan can MAKE us do things. Does this mentality give Satan more power than God ? We make the choice, always. We are not any ones puppet. Our thoughts our always our own.
Its time for me to drink that now cooled coffee. Sit in silence for a while. To hear my own heartbeat, to think honestly about who I am today, in this moment and then get on my mud boots and head out to do my chores.
Just a note for you, yes you, my readers. You are all amazing, and you have a purpose that only you can fulfill.

Photo was taken at Mineral Wells State Park