REBUILDING MY CASTLE

  Here I am again, looking at my life. I have traveled many miles in the past two years. I have moved a few times and worked in many different jobs to make ends meet. I have started over and over and over. Now, I am working at a job with amazing career potential that will provide my children and I with a secure future. I am attending a caring and loving church. I meet new people every week there and feel like I have found what I have been looking for within those walls. I have discovered many things about myself and other people. I have seen what strong children that I have. As I look forward, I see nothing. No picture is painted before my eyes of my future, just a space in which anything can be built. This space that represents my future has unlimited possibilities. In this space is where I will rebuild my castle. This castle can be made out of anything that I desire. Only the people that I want to enter will have access to it and to me. Everything about this castle will represent me in some capacity.
   The foundation needs to be strong, dependable and never change no matter what the weather. The walls of this castle need to be strong so all my enemies will be deterred but also inviting for the ones I love and that need to be loved to know that they can come in. The gate needs to be easy to lower for the ones that seek refuge and quick to be raised when danger is lurking. The furnishings need to represent royalty but make anyone of any station feel at home. The rooms need to be filled with love. The sounds should stir your soul and create a warmth deep within. The smells should take you back to a good place in your life and make you feel comforted. The spirit should put your mind at rest and make you feel safe as soon as you cross the threshold.
   How do I build this castle? Where do I begin? Every step has purpose. Every day holds a promise. The foundation will represent the Lord. His faithfulness, goodness and dependability is shown in every inch of the it. The walls represent every decision I have made. Every stone that is placed by me is a point in time that I decided to take the high road and do the right thing or let my humanity reign. If you look closely at those bricks you can see that decision play out as if it is a living picture. It takes time to build those walls and with every step, every day, a new stone is placed. The gate is what I allow in and out of the castle. Whether it is people, my own words or circumstances, it is up to me to allow it to come before my presence. Each time the gate is lowered I am risking the safety of the castle. The protection of the ones who reside within rests on my shoulders. The furnishings represent what I wear and how I carry myself. It represents my personality and class. The sounds of us lifting our voices in praise of each other and the Lord should be something that is commonplace. My spirit and love that I want others to learn and share should fill each and every area of the castle. When people come to my castle or in front of me, I want to leave feeling better than when they came. I want them to see a difference in me than anyone else. I want my castle and everything in it to represent a child of the King. I want the ones inside my castle to feel safe and loved. My castle may not be like the one I had before and that is my goal. I want it to be better than I could have even hoped for.
   In those times when my enemies do try to enter into my castle I want to handle it with grace and poise and let them know they have been dealt with. It needs to be in such a way that it doesn't hurt or harm them but make them think twice before even pointing themselves in my direction. I want to be known as a loving and caring queen but one to be reckoned with.
   Each day, I will look at my castle and see if there are any weak spots in its construction. Each day, I will remind myself of the responsibilities I have as a queen to the people and to myself. Each stone should be sturdy and represent a part of myself I am proud of. It is a big responsibility to build a castle but I have been equipped with the knowledge and fortitude to complete the task. The process is taking longer than I would like at times, but with the Lord as my foundation, there is nothing impossible that we cannot handle together. One day my castle will be completed and my story will be told to all of those who pass by my castle. My name will be carried on through generations. It is up to me what they see and the story that is told. You and I both know that story is gonna be nothing less than amazing!!