Exploration-whether you want to or not

I should have no trouble with this month's ABS Carnival Blog Theme of Exploration. I am suddenly and unexpectedly embarking on a whole new journey at a time in my life when I was very comfortable staying just where I was. As one friend put it, "It's the end of an era".

I lost my most cherished, beloved friend, lover, husband and confidant last week. I have no choice but to explore lots of other possibilites. Everything in my life changed in one instant. This is the first time in my life ever that I will live alone. But I am not alone.

I will explore options by myself that I would never have dreamed of doing by myself. Buying a smaller home. Deciding what to keep, what to part with. Deciding what to eat for dinner, what to watch on tv without regard for anyone else. But I do so completely shored up by his memory and his strength. I can feel him holding me up and keeping me strong.

There is a poem by Ruth Bell Graham in her book Sitting by my laughing fire... called Plenty and in it she says,

I have been

so generously provided for

in happiness,

good memories,

family,

and true friends;

and more than all-

His presence and His Word;

perhaps it is a "sign,"

as mountain people say,

that winter is to be

a tough one.

If that is so,

let it be;

my larders are well stocked."

My larders are well stocked. So off I go to explore.