I splurged yesterday. My daughter and I had pedicures. I believe if you take care of your feet, your entire body will thank you. I woke up this morning, looked at my toes, and smiled.

I am really into beauty right now. Noticing what’s around me, and enjoying it’s natural state. I spent years buying what I thought was beautiful. There are boxes somewhere full of handmade pottery from NC artists. I think my life was such a mess, I tried filling it up with beautiful things. Maybe covering it up is more accurate. All of that has been scraped away.

My marriage was ugly, so we invested in art. I recall hiring an artist from Austin TX to create two paintings for a living room we were remodeling. He spent time with us, and got a feel for the space we were creating. It’s funny, but I don’t recall telling him we liked water. When he came to us with the finished work, it was a hauntingly accurate portrayal of us.

One painting was rather dark, but had potential. It was a lake view, with foliage around it, but the sky was overcast and cloudy. That described my husband at the time. The other painting was an identical lake view, but the sky was noticeably different. It had light breaking through the clouds. That one was mine. The artist painted what we portrayed.

Those were painted over 10 years ago, and I left them when I left. They are worth a small fortune today, but my happiness, and well being are worth far more.

I found this artist this morning, and it made my heart soar. She makes art from flowers, and twigs, so I made it into a Meme. It portrays how natural, and simple, beauty is to me today.

Speaking to a lady yesterday brought back memories of when I left. How it felt, and how it happened. My marriage changed once I got sober.

When you think about it, I was drinking on my wedding day, so it makes sense I’d be different without the drink. The more sober I got, the less we had in common. It got to the point the only thing we had in common were our two kids. That is no reason to stay, but it was a good excuse.

I had a lot of excuses not to leave.

To me they were valid reasons, but knowing what I know today, they were excuses. We had ruined our credit, and had a home foreclosure on record. I thought no one would rent a house to me with bad credit. Life happens, and credit gets ruined, but my credit score is not who I am in God’s eyes.

All I wanted was a chance to be free. I knew God had a better plan for me, than what I had gotten myself into. The feeling of dread was constant. I dreaded everything because there was no love. No reason for being there anymore because love was long gone.

I stopped looking for reasons, and just started moving. I knew that God would open doors, and close doors, to direct my path. It’s easy to look at what lies ahead, and let that stop you.

Tell every obstacle how big your God is.

Have faith. When my daughter and I started looking at houses, I’m sure there were Realtors who frowned at my credit. I was going to be a single Mom, and didn’t have a lot. When people care about you, and not your bank account, life gets real good, really quick.

All I had, was who I was.

People I rented from called friends, and past employers to see how I had treated them. That needed to know I’m a good person, and friends confirmed. Do your best, and let God do the rest.