Time Travelers

Well, my oh my!!!!!! ........... how time flies!! We, being travelers in this journey called life have become TIME TRAVELERS, it seems, ...BEING SWEPT away IN THE MOVEMENT of the Universe.

As I sit on my Front Porch this early evening, I glance upward to the sky, and watch as the soft hazy clouds overhead slowly move across the sky before me. I sence the connction of that movement which also represents MY LIFE, and the gradual but continual changes of the scenery on a day to day, week to week, and month by month progression. I ponder all that has transpired in the ONE YEAR anniversary, since the meeting of my precious sisters, known as FRONT PORCH FRIENDS!!

As I begin to write this blog I see from the POST date, that I have been absent from my Personal Front Porch communications for ONE FULL YEAR.........however does that happen??? I MEANT TO WRITE MORE OFTEN, I THOUGHT about it, my INTENTIONS WERE GOOD .... Where DOES that time go??? Perhaps, as a dear friend once said to me , 'we get caught up in the Tyranny of the Urgent, and life just keeps evolving!" ( and we, it appears, ever so gradually, slip RIGHT along with it )

Circumstances, Situations and "LIFE IN GENERAL" keep changing and moving on. The daily demands and time constraints keep us FAR too busy. I try to recall the many events that I have witnessed, and taken part in, over this time frame, and it flashes before my minds eye, like clips from a SLIDE SHOW.

We've said our last good bye's and have all grieved the loss of some precious ones in our lives that can never be replaced, and will ever leave an empty hole in our hearts. We've prayed together and held one another up through these times of illness, loss and darkness. We've faced diagnoses that shook our foundations and clung on to a promise of healing. Several of us have traveled to places we never thought we would see. We've celebrated over the birth of New Babies, and New Beginnings, as we have shared with those dear to us, who have taken that sacred vow of Marriage. Longime friends move away, and we miss them terribly. Our children seem to grow and change daily, and we fear losing them to the crazy world that they will someday traverse on their own. It all passes too quickly!!

We've elected a new President, and continue to watch as his agenda unfolds and impacts our lives. The economic burdens continue to press in on us, and we are forced to change ( or take on) new jobs to keep financially afloat; we celebrate with those who once were LOST and now are FOUND!! AND, for me especially, I watch as my beloved husband continues to decline mentally and phyically from the slow progression of Multiple Sclorosis. So little time we have had to build GOOD memories. BUT, I thank God for never leaving us during these challenging times, and I cling on to the HOPE of the return of our soon and coming King.. and that someday soon we will ALL experience a land where there will be no more sickness or death!!

SOOO many changes, sooo many tears, of both sadness and joy............. nothing stays the same!! It KEEPS MOVING ON. Amidst these storms, through the sunrises, and sun-sets, and whirlwinds of life, each of us struggles to stay focused, stay connected, and hold on with all our might to our Faith, AND THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER of that Faith!! BUT ONE THING IS certain...we never bear these burdens alone..for WE, who are Sisters in Faith, despite the miles and years that separate us, ALWAYS can depend that when ONE is in need...all will respond! Thats the way it is with the FAMILY OF GOD...what HE joins together can NEVER be torn apart... and FOR THAT, my dear friends, I REJOICE!! What touches ONE of us, affects ALL of us, as our hearts are connected.

So much has happened in the lives of the FRONT PORCH SISTERS, in this past year, and it was our dear Laurie who called us to "RALLY AROUND" and give an update on not only the VIEW from our OWN updated Front Porches , but to also share HOW our " chance meeting" at the Speakers and Writers Conference of SHE SPEAKS ministry, has impacted our lives. I believe that I am the FIRST to respond...WOW....where do I begin to expound??

Just a little over one year ago, with the chance meeting of these 7 special ladies at that special, LIFE CHANGING conference, began a unique and deeply bonded relationship of HEART FRIENDS!! Friends who immediately recognized that, dispite our obvious variety of ages, ethnicities, geographic distances, and stages in life, we had A DUEL COMMONALITY:
A PASSION TO WRITE AND SPEAK, AND A PASSION FOR OUR GOD!! This was, AND IS, the GLUE that holds us together.

As often happens in life, when you come together, in a first meeting, and you instantly CLICK, or even if it's the reunion of family and old friends, YOU PROMISE, to never lose touch, and at FIRST...you try really hard to make that happen...but alas...as time passes, and the pressures, demands, and distractions of life crash upon us, it is easy to FORGET what is REALLY IMPORTANT...BUT then there is SOMEONE who gently reminds you that its time to CHECK BACK IN and reconnect, the bond immediately takes hold once again. Thanks, Laurie, for your faithful demonstration of your love of writing, and the love and devotion to your "WRITE ON" friends, whom our Great God has intrusted to you. You are an AMAZING LADY, and I want to personally be the first to tell you how GLAD I am that we were united to be FRONT PORCH SISTERS. You have an incredible ability to express such depth of emotion in your writing, and you are an inspiration to so many of us!!

Now, on to my PERSONAL update: This past April I was asked to be the Key Speaker at a Christian Womens Retreat, with the theme THE HEART OF GOD!!.....well..if't its ONE THING I KNOW ABOUT and have a PASSION FOR..it's GOD, and the condition of the Hearts of Women. ( beginning with and relating to MY OWN) What a blessing and a privelege that was, and I know that it was directly a result of the encouragement of both SHE SPEAKS conference last year, AND the love and encouragment of YOU, my Sisters. It had been YEARS since I have had this opportunity, and it rekindled that desire in my Heart to communicate what God has taught me throughout my life experiences. I pray that more opportunities to Speak will arrise from the incredibly possitive response of those attending this retreat. How I wish you all might have been present with me, but please know that I held you near in my spirit over the entire weekends teaching sessions. And our Mighty God used ME ( in my inabilities and weakesses) to impress HIS love upon those women attending , and to confirm HIS Holy presence despite thier fear and doubts.

My BOOK writing has been "on hold" for several months now , but maybe with this "RE Start" to my blogging, I will once again sit at the keyboard and put my thoughts in order. If it IS to be, the inspiration and motivation will come!!

Maybe the writing of my BOOK was what DREW me to the conference last year, but EVEN GREATER STILL, than the knowledge and experience from that event, was the powerful connection of like-mindedness and faithful devotion from my Front Porch Sisters, and for THAT, if nothing more comes from it, I am EVER GRATEFUL!!

I close this writing with a serene sence of contentedness, and with a soft sigh, I become aware that, though there is MUCH in this life we cannot capture or control, and as "TIME TRAVELERS" we steadly move onward, once thing is certain. HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN US, WILL COMPLETE IT!! ( no matter HOW LONG it takes, by our measuring. or how that work manifests itself in our lives )

Be strong in your Faith, my Sisters, stay dedicated to your cause and your calling, continue to persevere, and thank you ALL, for meeting here with me on the Front Porch View from the West. I look eagerly forward to your own updated blogs and communications.

Till we meet again, here on FRONT PORCH, ( or at THE HOUSE) I thank my God for you, and hold you ever in my prayers!! Sharon