Moving Forward

I've been writing here for many years now.  Some seasons provide more time for me to write and share my thoughts with you beloved reader and other seasons I am quiet because my thoughts shouldn't be shared. One thing I hope I have conveyed over all these years is that when you come to spend a moment with me here you will walk away from this spot knowing that you are loved and that my life's goal is to love.  I end every blog post with the signature "Nothing But Love" because that is the only message  I have to express that I feel is of any value to repeat over and over.  And maybe I've become redundant in this message, but I'd prefer to think of it as being consistent in my life's message. 

I know many people who are feeling a deep sense of loss and sadness this advent season.
They are looking around at the present state of our world and more specifically our nation, and they are still shaking their heads in disbelief.  Some have shaken the dust off and moved on, but there are still so many that no longer feel secure in this country.  They wonder every time they walk out their door if they will be safe to walk their streets and wear their clothes, and have a different color of skin.
I will never truly know as a white, suburban married, mother of 4 what it feels like to move forward for them at this present moment, so I won't presume to know what to make of all of this for them.
But, as a mother of 4 who has had many conversations with my adult and almost adult children I can tell you that my sole purpose has been renewed. 
"LOVE WINS"
I have come to realize that so long as we keep our heads, and more specifically our eyes on people and humanity our discouragement might continue. If you look for the negative you will find it, but I challenge us all to look for the good because it is there.
This man and his sign inspired me to write this post ;
This Was About Washing My Brothers Feet
Maybe it will inspire you too and remind us all that we are one as we remain walking out a life in love. 
"LOVE WINS"
In times like these it's crucial that we look up and remember this is not our home.  That's not to say that we shouldn't pay attention to the world we live in right now, and that we shouldn't spend every last breath we have trying to the best of our ability to make it better, but we have to remember that this place is not eternal. 
The earth and all that is in it is passing away. 
The souls that inhabit this place are however eternal and the only thing that will last in them is the love that is shared. 
Love is eternal, because God is love. 
"LOVE WINS"
"But God can restore vision where it has been lost.  He can give hope to dream again. He can bring His truth to bear upon the lies of discouragement. He can give assurance to a promising future. Prayer is the avenue through which He can accomplish it. "

So in moving forward for me and my house I am remembering what my determined purpose is here on this planet while I'm here and it's not to declare my allegiance to any particular party line, but to continually point upward and onward.  It is to continue to shout from the snowy mountain tops that; 
"LOVE WINS"
To let love reign and rule and truly be a light that shines in this dark place.  Im not capable of this kind of love that crosses so many divides in my own strength.  There is only one that I know who can reach out across all borders and extend grace and acceptance and it's in His footsteps that I want to spend my life's energy to follow after. 
1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

Only LOVE is eternal