Sanctuary

I’m on the back screened in porch of our Beaver Lake, Arkansas house listening to cicadas and frogs as the light fades.

Daddy built this house in 1986 when I was 18. While searching for property that year he drove and drove until he came to the end of a peninsula and decided it must be his land. Luckily he found a reputable builder this time and that’s why I’m here on the screened in porch in 2022 writing of my love for this place.

Life is such a mysterious grab bag. For reference, when I was a little girl I went to a special fair at church that had mystery grab bags. I remember being so excited to buy one for a dollar and place my nervous sweaty hand in the brown paper bag to discover it’s contents. Unfortunately it was a disappointing mix of trinket toys and candy. Is that all life has to offer?

I choose to live in the nervous excitement I had as an eight year old with the mystery grab bag. God is so much bigger than that…so I’m going to continue to hope in God’s greatness. I choose to believe I have limited understanding yet there is eternal hope and redemption for all.

Rejoice! Rejoice! God loves all! GOD LOVES ALL!

Thank you God for the cicadas, the lake, and the hummingbirds. You remind me all is sacred and all is beloved. Therefore all is eternal.❤️ Dad made this house as a sanctuary for all who visited. Just like Quasimodo yelled “Sanctuary!” for Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I am in a sanctuary of peace to reset my heart and mind on what is right and important. We all need such a sanctuary.