“Skin had hope, that's what skin does. Heals over the scarred place, makes a road.” 

~ Naomi Shihab Nye (from 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East.)

I write to you in the early hours of the morning. This predawn, primordial time of darkness is rich with free form creativity. The canvas is wide open, the clay shapeless, and the open page blank.

 I enter the quiet with reverence and cherish this sacred time of being. Here, I sit within the chambers of The Heart.  There is an untethered simplicity to be discovered in the in between spaces, for this is Holy ground.

Most times there is the temptation is to peddle faster because our agendas are overfull and everything is spinning faster. This is where I struggle especially at this time of year. Yet, we need moments of pause, free from clutter's noise and distraction to listen and nurture our spirits. We know that when we continue on in overdrive, we become more susceptible to the ill effects of stress and the accompanying anxiety.  

Our world holds much suffering but we can still can count on sun’s thawing illumination. Amid all the turmoil, our universe reveals a constancy of purpose. No matter how difficult a situation or circumstance; life offers us hope. Hope is informed by Love.  

In this season of Advent. we are invited to enter into communion with one another and the Source of our being. Be it ever so simply by showing up to share a meal, a conversation, or a laugh or two, we receive a precious gift.

 Love is ever present. Love seeks us. The door opens from within, receive Her blessing and experience the peace that surpasses all understanding. 

 Liz Sorensen Wessel

Watercolor by ~liz