Softer

this morning i am oh so grateful...full of grate? full of grace. and peace. and holy love. the holy love that is a soothing balm to the patches of my heart that get roughened by high velocity living and abrasive happenings. i am grateful for the people in my life who by their very presence invite me to be soft and vulnerable. the people who bring out my honesty, who want to really see me and know who i am. as a child, i thought that wisdom and living with grace would emerge naturally and effortlessly, that, like my grandmother, i would unfold wise, purple wings as i aged. now i see the choice of whether or not to engage in my life, whether or not to grow in love, whether or not to be open to learning and developing. now i see the choice...to be hard or soft, to be open or closed, to be light or darkness, to invite freedom or fear. it is easy to grow hard with time and affliction to develop a callous cynicism infects those around us. it is a call to life to remain open, soft, and innocent.

"Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts"
- Psalm 95:7-8

God, i hear you this morning. i hear you in the voices of gentle friends. i see you in the pink purple golds of the sunrise. i taste you in the sweet honey in my tea. every good and perfect thing comes from you. i will not harden my heart to your kindness.