The beauty of your cancer is:

Your spirit shining through it,

Your smile and your laughter tell me you will make it through this,

Prayers around the world and all include your name,

The beauty of your cancer is:

Our life will never be the same,

You have touched the hearts of strangers,

And now theirs are touching yours,

You have touched the hearts of family who have seen miracles,

And hope for cures.

You have touched the nurses and doctors who have watched you overcome your obstacles,

The beauty of your cancer is:
Anything is possible,

The day we almost lost you,

The day that you “survived”,

I took a good look back,

And decided to change our lives,

I realized what was missing, what was important, and what we needed.

The beauty of your cancer is:

It took the cancer for me to see it,

Our family bond is closer now,

The love we share is true,

We treasure every minute,

And it’s all because of you.

You inspire other families who are going through the same,

Your smile and your spirit seem to ease their pain,

You have changed so many people and raised hope

In many too.

The beauty of your cancer is you.

…because love wins.

If I could only tell you one thing, I would say this.

“You are not the only one that thinks about giving up. But you cannot. You can know though, that this? This too shall pass.”

…because love wins.

Life is perplexing. And sometimes our non-understanding of what to do leads us to our knees in tears. Today, my good friend Clive said it best with this:

“Crying is all right in its own way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” -C.S. Lewis

But on our knees we look up. And see that Jesus knows exactly what to do.

…because love wins.

by Rusty Berkus

From darkness to light,
and back again
to dream, to wake,
then back again
through the ebb and the flow
we are One in it all

Wherever you are in this moment,
is exactly where you are supposed to be,
no matter how things may seem to appear.

When you know
you are doing your very best
within the circumstances of your existence,
applaud yourself.

Above all,
forgive yourself.

…and,
forgive everyone else.

There is no prescribed Way
for everyone.
There is just your Way for NOW –
until you choose another.

There is no one to compare yourself to,
and no one to compete with.
There never was.
When the Rose and the Lotus
are side by side,
is more beautiful than the other?

When you awaken
to who and what you are,
everyone automatically awakens
to who and what you are,
without a word spoken.

Sometimes it takes great effort do discover
that life was meant to be effortless.

What we wouldn’t give to know
that it is okay
not to feel okay.

..and to know
that it is okay to feel
powerful, magnificent, deserving –
even extraordinary.

How would it be to know
that when life doesn’t seem to be working ,
it is STILL working perfectly?

Did you know
that you could experience
love, pain, joy, anger, death and rebirth
all at the same time and still be perfectly sane?

All earthly pain
is due to our inability
to release what needs to be free.

When you release
what needs to be free,
YOU are freed in the process.

Would you be willing
to get our of your own way,
and let the miracles that are yours
by divine right
come into your life?

Question:
Since you are here to remember who you are,
why have you forgotten?

Answer:
Perhaps you have lived
another’s dream, and not your own.

If you know you are not
your sports car, your grades or your children’s grades,
your color, your degree or your spouse’s degrees,
your age, your titles or your family’s titles,
your body, your possessions or your parents’ possessions –
Congratulations. You are Home again.

You stand outside the circle
and wonder why you feel left out,
unaware that you need your OWN permission
to join the others –
not theirs.

And sometimes there are those
who love themselves enough
to pull you into the circle.

Your loneliness is your Self
wanting to make friends with itself,
Your loneliness is your Heart
wanting to sing to itself,
Your loneliness is your Being,
wanting to dance with itself.

Behind all your anger and fear,
beneath all your sadness and loss
is the need for love,
How much love
are you willing to accept from others?

How much
are you willing to give?

Do you love yourself enough
to ask for what you need?

The dignity the world awards you
is in exact proportion
to the dignity you award yourself.

Disease is the soul screaming
through the body,
attempting to get the Truth out
once and for all.

Our immune system is only as strong
as the dosage of self-love, self-acceptance, and self-care
that we administer to ourselves daily.

The only infallible, immutable,
unlimited power
that heals without question
is Love.

There is a peaceful place inside
that welcomes you.
A space so safe, so still,
that there is no forward or backward –
only the eternal flow of Now.
Enter this radiance
where the truth of your being resides,
and remember who you are.

…because love wins.

There will be a day when you won’t be here anymore.
When I won’t  be here any more.
But for now we live in the beauty of this cocoon.
This place where with my headphones in my ears,
I can see your smile.
I can feel your joy.
I can appreciate the grayness of a beautiful
autumn day.
There’s no pain.
And there’s only hope.
That even though we won’t be here forever,
we’ll be together forever.
You’re beautiful.
And today,
I thank God that you’re here.

…because love wins.

There is a fire within you.
Don’t think  you know it?
It’s not quite what you think.

You think it’s the bold.
The loud.
The forwardness of your person.
But it’s quite the opposite.
It’s bright.
It devours the darkness.
It makes things beautiful.
It’s enjoyable.
It’s marveling.

It’s the feet you put on the floor when you awake.
It’s the way you do the dishes with a smile on your face.
It’s how you are soft when everyone is so mean.
It’s the confidence to let them spit at you.
To let them strike your cheek.
And then strike the other.
It’s that gentle touch.
It’s a willing prayer.
It’s a heart that listens.
It’s a tear of compassion.
It’s letting go.
It’s being calm in traffic.
It’s breathing deeply the ocean air.
It’s a baby’s cry.
And a mother’s kind word.

It’s what the world calls hope.
And it lives in you.

You don’t have time to let anything else live in you.

Love needs to win always.

…because love wins.

I am an admirer of words. I am elated by a beautiful conversation. I like the way that words are formed so differently to so many different humans. I find it wonderful how they can express so much, and be so much, and are our means to understanding the hearts around us. They are essential. They build up, and encourage, and give life to light in dark places.

But they, just like all things created for good in this life, can be misused. When spoken without diligent care, or without concern for the hearts about which they speak, or to whom they share with, they can tear down, wreck beautiful things, and paint dark murals in light places.

Do not let anything come from your lips that is not a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Ever.

The world begs for you to be light. There is no margin for that.

“For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.” – 1 Peter 3:10

…because love wins.

As I wander around the beautiful yellows and oranges of a bluff-city autumn, my mind wanders to things beyond the world.
What must have He thought the day He created the light and the dark?
I’m sure it was nothing like what I would have thought.
(His thoughts are not like my thoughts. And His ways not like my ways.)
He knew already that I would walk in this place and gaze upon His creation.
He knew that the breeze would make me come alive.
He knew what would break my heart.
And He knew what I would hope for and fear.
He colored the trees for me.
And he made the ocean so I could adore.
He gave me a future.
And hope beyond myself.
And brought a smile to my heart that I could not have put there on my own.

Some would say it’s just another season of the year. I think it’s a beautiful time to be romanced in a way that reminds me so perfectly that He loved me first.

…because love wins.