Glorious!

Saying goodbye to Portland and the Women of Faith conference today, but taking with me the refreshment of a break in the routines, the courage to press on, the intense desire to grow and accept change as life's twists and turns challenge me to dig in and isolate (which is my default tendency).

I awoke tired today, feeling shy and having the desire to withdraw and be alone in a crowd. I opened my Bible to Proverbs 18:1 and read, "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment" NKJ Sooooo, I tried to press in to the thousands of people around me and look them in the eyes as they passed by, but the icy temptation to isolate had a crack in it when Patsy Clairmont ended her talk this morning by saying "don't isolate yourself", which wouldn't have been so profound if the rest of her talk had been about that, but it wasn't, so it felt like a little 'afterthought' aimed right at my heart. Then there was a dear friend who I didn't know was at the conference until she texted me last night and then again this morning. She invited me to find her for a hug (and she gives great big wonderful hugs too!) and I did just that. In the process, I got to share encouraging words with a few other special ladies I wouldn't have seen otherwise and was equally encouraged by their warm welcome to me.

Then there was the lovely lady who invited me to come in the first place and with whom I shared much of the time. I had no idea how much I needed this, but I am so inspired to continue putting one foot in front of the other and just walk faithfully. More and more, I am moved to believe that there are less and less things required of me, and the most important thing I can do in life is to keep showing up.