soulful.

feel free to listen to this over and over.  I know I am doing so today.
smooth and soulful.

this friday is good only when looking through the lens of the sunday that follows.  a cross of pain and death this day which was experienced by so many in ancient days can only be seen as good when the sunday arrives when only one man conquered that death.

I know beliefs differ from person to person.

for my soul,
that deep part of my being where heart assurance/knowledge is beyond words, that place where connection, intimacy, and joy live, that location where love, self-awareness, peace, and quiet have their residence,
I choose to believe this friday to be good and I am sat thankful and mindful of a peace that passes understanding, remembering moments as recent as yesterday where conversations led me to feelings of goodness in a way where only a smile, a hug, a pat on the shoulder - only non-verbal forms of communication - can appropriately or adequately communicate.
silence is powerful and allows us to be present.  to simply 'be'.

with all the pain, suffering, brokenness, confusion, in our lives, I need to believe that recovery and redemption exist.
and I do believe.

soul moments...
so many I could tell stories about where words fall short when I try to explain or help you feel like you were alongside me.
you have stories like this, too.  you could tell me about interactions and experiences that changed your life, and as much as I would like to completely "get it", I cannot, which can feel quite sad and isolating, actually.
and, yet
at the same time,
the inability to describe is what makes it special.
it is what makes it yours,
personal,
on purpose.
for you and for those who were alongside you during that time, when you lived in another country, when you worked at that job, when you went on that trip, when you passed that test after studying yourself silly... you have a shared experience that will bond you together always.
intimacy.
soul connection.
and the beauty of it all is that though I may not fully "get" your moment and you may not fully "get" my story, we also recognize that these type of moments exist for us all,
and that shared awareness binds us together as people.

you know when you hear a song, or see a movie, or look at a piece of artwork, or read a book that you just connect with, that you feel like everyone you know needs to hear it, see it, read it, as well?
when you have a moment you feel compelled to share because you just want others to have a chance to experience the same type of depth and/or joy?
for me it can be anything from a ridiculous one liner on a tv show to a story of a moment on the side a dirt road where a friend and I stood one afternoon crying together in common hurt.
I feel like that those moments of "can there be anything greater/more meaningful than this?" live in our souls.
creativity lives here.
maybe we don't have the ability to paint or sing or turn a phrase in a particularly eloquent way, but we are all creative.

we
are
all
creative.

each of us can do something like no one else can.
maybe that is connecting with people.  maybe that is sitting quietly and reading for hours upon hours.  maybe that is performing on stage.  maybe that is thinking outside of the box and problem-solving.  maybe that is refinishing furniture.  maybe that is making an omelette.  maybe that is creating space in your schedule to go to the park with your kids even when you are exhausted after a day at work.  perhaps that is folding a shirt so that all the buttons line up in stacks.  maybe that is making the perfect caramel machiatto.  maybe that is creating a safe space for people to share.
I do not know what "that" is or "those" are for you.
but, you do.
if you don't, ask someone who loves you.
they can tell you.

lean into those places where you feel the most "like yourself",
like "the best version of (insert your name here)".
when you those soul spaces and lean in, the people around you will find more joy, and so will you.

finding this space is worth the effort.
worth
the
effort
because it is in these soul spaces that we find
more laughter, peace, love, meaning,
and LIFE.

"...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  

                                                                                                                     john 10.10

and who among us would not like more of these things?

I pray that grace and peace reside within your soul moments today.
thanks be to God.

cheers,
kb.