Two times in the last two weeks I was feeling incredibly depleted and fatigued.\u00a0 The first time it was after driving 2000 miles across the country in four days by myself – the third and longest day was through gale force Kansas winds that shook my car so thoroughly I had to slow way down so as not to be blown off the road.\u00a0 The second time was this morning.\u00a0 I had worked nine consecutive 17-hour overnight care-giving shifts, I had packed and moved half my belongings into storage, and I was preparing to fly home to help attend to the needs of my elderly and ailing parents.<\/p>\n
Both times, the Universe\/God\/the Angels stepped in and gave me a thoroughly unexpected gift.\u00a0 And both times my exhaustion lifted in an instant!\u00a0 <\/em>Both times I noticed this transformation in my body and spirit and marveled at the wonder of it.\u00a0 Grace.\u00a0 Absolute Grace.<\/p>\n Thank you. Thank You.\u00a0 THANK YOU!<\/em><\/p>\n The first time this happened I was on the last leg of my journey home.\u00a0 I had awakened that morning with very low energy, wishing like crazy I didn’t have to get back in that car.\u00a0 (I had to be home the next day to meet a guest and then later, to begin work.)\u00a0 My energy rose a bit when I got to the wide-open spaces of the beautiful Colorado desert west of Pueblo and then even moreso as I drove through the canyonlands and the beautiful Arkansas River.\u00a0 But after one and a half hours of driving, Beauty alone could not sustain me.\u00a0 Have you ever been so exhausted you just wanted to cry?\u00a0 That’s how I felt.\u00a0 I finally dragged into the town of Salida and had a quick bite to eat and then I slogged on.<\/p>\n I was now on the home stretch.\u00a0 I was back in familiar territory only an hour north of home.\u00a0 And suddenly it happened.\u00a0 I drove through Poncha Pass.\u00a0 This is a lovely place where the upper reaches of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains meet the Sawatch Range.\u00a0 Once one exits the pass, the whole of the great San Luis Valley spreads out, guarded on the east and west by a chain of gorgeous, tall mountains.\u00a0 Anyway. I had just driven a mile or so into the pass when I suddenly realized I was smiling.\u00a0 It was my first genuine smile of the entire day.\u00a0 And I suddenly realized that my fatigue had disappeared.\u00a0 It had just flat out disappeared.\u00a0 I felt light!\u00a0 I felt buoyant.\u00a0 I felt… happy!<\/p>\n Oh the gift of feeling that shift from exhaustion to delight.\u00a0 My whole body, mind, and spirit felt better.\u00a0 I felt so blessed.<\/p>\n This morning the shift was equally unexpected.\u00a0 I had ended my work shift at 9 a.m.\u00a0 I still had packing to do.\u00a0 Lots of it.\u00a0 Whatever didn’t fit into my suitcases had to be taken to storage or given away.\u00a0 I still had vacuuming to do.\u00a0 I had to go to the bank, get gas, clean out the car, make several phone calls.\u00a0 I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch.\u00a0 I had another part-time job to do in the middle of the day.\u00a0 I had a myriad loose ends to tie up before the long drive to the airport the next day.\u00a0 And I had no energy to do any of it.\u00a0 I was absolutely overwhelmed, exhausted, and sad, because deep in my heart, I didn’t want to leave.\u00a0 I dearly loved this town which I had lived in for only nine months.\u00a0 And the thought of leaving this place that was so special to me to deal with the\u00a0 impending loss of our family home plus attend to the needs of my two dear parents, one of whom was inching closer to death….\u00a0 It all felt like too much.<\/p>\n Finally, after one and a half hours of procrastination, I put in my contacts, brushed my teeth, tried to cheer myself up with some lipstick,\u00a0 and ventured outside.<\/p>\n I confess I felt better simply stepping outside.\u00a0\u00a0 I took a few steps, and then I saw it.\u00a0 There, right before me in the partially melted snow, was a perfectly shaped heart.\u00a0 This was not carved by human.\u00a0 It was the Angels’ doing.\u00a0 It had to be.\u00a0 Some snow had melted on the surface and below the surface leaving in its wake a hole that was shaped like a heart.<\/p>\n It was all I needed.\u00a0 I felt loved.\u00a0 I felt the gift of being alive and here in this place of Magic and Miracles.<\/p>\n Thank you.\u00a0 Thank you, thank you, thank you.\u00a0 Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!<\/p>\n The Gift of Transformation.\u00a0 It can happen to any of us at any time.\u00a0 And it can happen in an instant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two times in the last two weeks I was feeling incredibly depleted and fatigued.\u00a0 The first time it was after driving 2000 miles across the country in four days by myself – the third and longest day was through gale force Kansas winds that shook my car so thoroughly I had to slow way down…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":553,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,57,3,511,312,198,400,83,192,438,80,24,2,366,423,146,123,470,512,513,273,437,384,433],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-angel","category-beauty","category-blessings","category-colorado","category-depleted","category-depressed","category-family","category-feeling-overwhelmed","category-gift","category-givng-thanks","category-god","category-grace","category-gratitude","category-happiness","category-magic","category-miracles","category-mountains","category-near-death","category-parents","category-poncha-pass","category-thank-you","category-thankfulness","category-tired","category-transitions"],"yoast_head":"\n