Chapter 11:11

What a Wonderful   Broken World.  Honestly though. I sat there, the gym was completely quiet except for the steady hum of the static coming from the speakers. The projector was all set up, and shining a picture of a lighthouse by water onto the wall. The blue mats were spread out on the floor. Soon the children would come. Mali, with her bright pink leggings and a new dance move. There would be David, all his walls, hundreds of feet up, acting like Mr. Tough Guy and he is only twelve. My little Sara who is always dirty and smells like smoke, but can never listen because "we never have food in the house and I'm so hungry." I sat there and I wanted to cry. What do I have to give these precious souls? All I have is a few hours every other Sunday, and most of them are too distracted by hunger or pain to really know if you made a difference. But I go. I go because maybe, just maybe, when I hug her anyway, even if I smell like smoke the rest of the day. Maybe, if I play bas...

So, my friends. We are back, with a blog post inspired by my adorable little reindeer slippers with blinky noses pictured above. I did my daily thing, which consists of running around outside barefoot till I can no longer feel my feet, then madly stampeding for the house and hoping up and down and hating myself till my toes are once again bendable. OK, its not that bad, and its good for your health so why not? (And since the ornery January Thaw made it's appearance, running around in what little snow is left really isn't a feet anyway.) (Yes I see what I did there.) Here's a story of how the little deer's taught me a lesson on faith. Nope, life just isn't easy. And, although optimist's like me like to think a smile and a little bit of chocolate will make everything right again, sadly the world's problems just aren't that simple. But then again, I also complicate things by looking to the wrong things to solve my problems. Like a smile and chocolate f...

To the person feeling like all is lost. To the one feeling trapped in a life of sin and despair. To the girl struggling to find her meaning in life. To the father who feels like a failure. To the preacher who feels like he will never succeed. To the business owner who uses work to drown out the pain. To the child who is never understood. To the boy who is hiding hell under a bluff. To the person lost in a world of chaos. To the lonely. To the hurt. To the one who feels like there is no hope. To the one who wants to live a better life and doesn't know how. To everyone, everywhere, in any circumstance or situation. This is a call to drop what ever your doing, stop fighting to make life work. Stop trying to fix it. Mend broken dreams. Heal your broken heart. Stop trying to do it all on your own. You are wearing yourself out for no reason. I know it seems strange and a little unbelievable, and maybe you don't believe this at all... But there is a God in heaven. ...