19 Comments
User's avatar
Sally French Wessely's avatar

Sue, your words have greatly blessed me today. I see so much vulnerability in them, and also so much honesty. It is so much easier, or at least it feels safer, to curl up inside oneself. I fight that tendency constantly. I find so much to ponder in this beautiful essay, and love the selections from others you include. This quote is especially good in that it does cause me, as it did you to ask such an essential question. “it’s a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet and what is sand.” Thank you for sharing this. And, thank you for the beautiful prayer at the end.

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Sally that you for blessing me with your encouragement. I appreciate you seeing the vulnerability in this price as you know my struggle in that. I do love that Madeline quote ❤️too.

Expand full comment
Susan's avatar

Sue, this piece is so beautifully written. I am on my own journey of great transition due to unforeseeable circumstances which have happened, and continue to happen, in my life over the last nine or so years. As difficult as these circumstances have been, I have learned a great deal in my on-going healing and acceptance of all that has transpired beyond my control. I am a great believer in prayer and upon rising, my early mornings begin with my prayer, meditation and spiritual enlightenment time. In my healing, I am learning to left go of control. It has been a difficult journey, but I see and feel it happening. The peace it brings me? There are no words for it. My husband sees this in me well. (Like everyone, I am a work in progress and sometimes I have to catch myself.) If someone had told me ten years ago what I would be living through, but how it has changed me in sprite of the excruciating pain I've had to endure, I never would have believed it. Beauty and peace can come from excruciating times in our lives. We need to be willing to look deep within ourselves and take the necessary steps in order to heal and become who we are meant to be as our journeys continue to evolve. Your daughter doing this during the pandemic speaks volumes about her wisdom and soul at what is a young age in life. I love the poem The Avowal by Denise Levertov and loved seeing it in your writing here. I also love and appreciate the words at the end of your writing, which I put into my journal with your name. I am grateful to have read your words this morning!

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Oh Susan, I am so glad you found something in this post that resonated and hopefully encouraged you?? You are so right, difficult circumstances call us into more depth, and the need to release things. I am so sorry that these years have been so difficult for you.

We are all definitely a work in progress and even as we don't want the difficulties, we do want the growth, the becoming that these times can initiate.

May you continue to experience the peace you mentioned. And may your becoming be beautiful to behold.

Expand full comment
Susan's avatar

❤️❤️❤️

Expand full comment
Becky Gonzalez's avatar

Thankful for your words, Sue!

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Becky, thank you so much for reading and commenting. I hope something in my story reflected something in your own - I think that is the beauty of our stories. 🤗🤗

Expand full comment
Stephen T Berg's avatar

Honest and wise and thoughtfully written. Thank you, Sue.

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Well, thank you so much Steve! 🤗❤️

Expand full comment
Eileen's avatar

Once again I have enjoyed reading your writings. Thank you for sharing so eloquently. Be blessed as you have blessed me. Eileen

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Eileen, thank you so much for reading and taking the time to send me this encouragement. I’m so glad you found something in the essay that ministered to you. Blessing to you also. ❤️

Expand full comment
Kristine Amundrud's avatar

Sue! I'm sharing this with my elderly Aunt. So many beautiful nuggets. I really enjoyed this. ❤️

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Oh I appreciate you saying that and sharing it. I pray it is an encouragement to your aunt. 🤗🤗

Expand full comment
Linda Stoll's avatar

Sue, this is exactly where I am right now - 'It may not be the specific events of our lives, so much as the timing of them that we have difficulty accepting. There are times we feel the trajectory of our lives is too fast, we want to slow the pace.'

What makes the years zoom by faster than ever? What might we have missed along the way? I sit with questions ... but not for too long. Living life fully is a gift I want to embrace. Thank you for the affirming nudge in that direction.

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

I am with you in feeling that life has sped up way too much lately. It might be because we are in a certain season of life or maybe our world has amped things up but I too want to fully embrace the life I have been given. I’m so glad these words provided the nudge you needed ❤️🤗

Expand full comment
Jen Baden Howard's avatar

Oh Sue, you write so beautifully about this folding into ourselves and unfolding, as it happens from the moment life begins, and how we see it happening all throughout. The image of folding in to protect and cup a precious flame is so powerful! I will sit with this one and come back to it, I know - it's so good. Again, it makes me think of the way "the body keeps the score", and the protective, physical manifestations of "folding in" - I could talk to you for hours about this (and would love to, at some point!). And I'm so deeply sorry to hear about what you experienced as a child at school. SO much love, and thank you, thank you for this essay. I'm so grateful you've shared it here. And such a beautiful prayer. Oh, how I want to and hope to talk to you more about what you've written and captured here. ❤️

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

Thank you so much Jen! 🤗🤗 your encouragement means the world! I’m curious, did you read or listen? I was just trying out the recording thing.

There is a tension isn’t there between faith and working hard to get life to go the way we desire, and so much completely out of our control. And yet there is a gift in that isn’t there? Let’s do a zoom soon!

Expand full comment
Jen Baden Howard's avatar

The funniest thing is you know I do love listening to audiobooks, and to authors read the words, but today I wanted to sit and read yours and let them sink in and to savour them in that way. That said, I intend to listen to them tonight, too, and reflect some more. And I’m leaving you a Voxer right now! 💗🙏🏻

Expand full comment
Sue Fulmore's avatar

❤️❤️❤️

Expand full comment