the Foreword for My New Book - the next draft

This story commences

  somewhere in the middle.

  In this middle place, I walked yet

  another path of reflection and healing

  of the events that transpired ten years past.

You see, I am a gay woman, a lesbian.

  My particular life circumstances prevented

  me from knowing this until my 39^th year, after

  a husband and three children filled my life, after

  I had established a career and selected my life path.

The crisis of this awakening arose in the midst of other

  events, so that in the passage of a mere four years;

  my mother and father departed this life,

  my relationship with my life partner ended,

  I was asked to surrender, and nearly lost, my babies, 

  members of my birth family disowned me,

  my life partner’s kin vanished from my life,

  my business and source of income failed,

  the church family of my youth rejected me,

  my home, the future I anticipated…all gone.

These events brought the fire that razed

  everything I thought I understood and believed.

  You know the feeling when the world turns upside

  down and you discover that gravity doesn’t really exist?

The experiences have been my teachers and guides,

  ever-present and relentless in their quest to gift healing,

  confront harmful beliefs, open new paths, reveal wisdom.

The fusion of those events with the experiences of my

  childhood and my recent encounter with mid-life

  created the substance out of which the journey

  of the last four years was birthed and grew.

I imagine that, in the moments prior to the union of our

  soul with the newborn, we were advised that this life did

  not come with a promise of unbroken happiness and ease.

I imagine also that we were reminded that this was to be a

  journey of the soul to experience wonders and trials,

  and through them, to feel the sacredness of life.

So many of us journey through our days searching for

  purpose, meaning, healing, fulfillment, happiness.

  The journey can be rich beyond measure,

  overflowing with wonder and laughter,

  turmoil and tears, profound love...

I share my experiences in hopes that they

  will resonate in the hearts and souls of fellow

  travelers, affirm the sacredness of each person’s

  Spirit Walk, and encourage all to continue on their path.