King Solomon wrote “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” When this blog began nine years ago, it had a very real purpose and the actual Homestead was at its center. Looking back over the last nine years, I can see that I did not realize how badly I needed to heal, learn, and grow, before I could be of value to others. In His infinite wisdom, my Heavenly Father gave me thirteen years on that wonderful old place, a place of grace, peace, and restoration, to heal spiritually and emotionally. Yes, there was a bout with a virulent form of cancer and several serious injuries, but they were balanced with the opportunity for furthering my education and gaining experience in recovery facilitating. I was given time, time that allowed me to complete my education, including two bachelor’s degrees and two Master’s degrees, and gain the knowledge and skills to take the dream and vision of the Homestead into its next iteration. 

      The Homestead, in its physical presence, no longer exists for me, but the precepts on which it was founded are still firmly planted in my heart.  I believe that, just like fourteen years ago when I first arrived there, not even realizing how broken I was, the spirit of the Homestead is still alive and well, and very viable. The original vision was beautiful and I truly loved the idea of putting the silo to great use, among other things. Now I have a new vision and it is still about ministering to women in need of recovery from a variety of abuses, in order to live emotionally healthy lives and  tend to the spiritual and emotional needs of their children. In His infinite wisdom, my Heavenly Father used the realities of my life, painful as some of them were, to redesign the vision and the plan. He brought me to a place where the need is great. South Carolina has a fairly abysmal history of ranking near the top of all 50 states in the arena of domestic violence. Having allowed me to enhance my knowledge and skills, I am now positioned to reach out and minister to those in need, in a new and much needed way.