Do you wake up with a deep weariness? The sun is shining brightly, but the curtains are drawn closed inside. Like me, you may be taking in a breath and deciding what you want to do with your mashed up emotions. Look out the window and find mums and a Jarrito under your Jonathan tree . . .

Or at least that is what happened to me this morning. How did the sweet person know that my heart ached deeply this morning? They knew because my heavenly father knows and he lays it on the hearts of his children to minister to one another. So now I embrace sunshine and take a sip of memories.

Two things I challenge you to do, no matter your mood:

• Develop friendships!
  • Yes, I know they are messy, but they are so valuable and necessary. Friends open the curtains of our lives, when we may be tempted to draw them shut.
  • We help each other
  • We grow better
• Develop traditions!
  • Grief comes into every life. The things that we do, no matter what sorrows may come, make the difference between shutting down and opening our life and love wide to others
  • Two years ago my neighbors planted an oak tree in my front yard and it has become a beacon, not just for my family, but for the neighborhood and you. You are not alone!