When You Know You Know

There isn't a doubt in my mind that some of the most precious moments I've experienced as a parent thus far were the moments I didn't see coming ... the moments I didn't plan ... the moments that took me completely by surprise. Every single one of those moments with my three children are precious to me ... the moments that danced with laughter and happiness and excitement ... the moments that stood hauntingly still with hurt and pain and sadness ... each and every one of those moments with my three children will always hold a very special place deep within my heart. But the best ... the most precious ... the most amazingly wonderful moments? The moments of understanding ... of growth ... of learning ... of knowing who they are. Yep, the most precious moments of all for me as their mom were those moments when all of a sudden, something would click within my kiddos hearts and minds and they would get it ... when they would know they knew who they are ... when they would know they knew their purpose, their calling, their mission in life. And perhaps even better ... even more precious ... even more amazingly wonderful has been to see them fully accept and embrace that knowledge ... that knowing of who they are. Something tells me I could stand to learn from my children in that department ... you bet I could stand to learn a whole heck of a lot from them on that.

Many of you have messaged me about this line from my previous post Sooner or Later ... "Second, though I give you my word that I'm not selling out The Tree House, I do think I need to take a few days off from writing ... not long, just a few days, I promise ... to contemplate the future direction of my blog, the subjects of my posts and the best way to tackle those subjects as I write." As seems to be the norm for the comments I receive these days, there was a wide range of opinion as to the future of my blog. It's more than interesting to me that even among the "you are surely going to burn in hell" crowd who write to me on a weekly basis, the overwhelming consensus from those of you who have messaged me is that I should continue to write. Thank you for that encouragement, by the way ... there are times when I wrestle with whether or not I should keep writing, especially when my subject matter is controversial in nature. Having said that, I'd like to share the why for the title of this post and the story about my kids in my opening paragraph.

Writing requires a lot of time. It requires a lot of dedication. It requires a lot of discipline. It requires a lot of energy. It requires a lot of thought. It requires a lot of vulnerability. It requires a lot of ... well ... it requires a lot of a lot of things. But to those of us who are writers ... those of us who are writers know that not to write would require death ... the death of our minds, our souls, our spirits ... the death of who we are, of our purpose, our calling, our mission in life. I had no idea when I began penning this blog that it would have such far-reaching impact ... both in my own life and the lives of so many others. I've learned a ton since I first began The Tree House back in 2008 ... a great big old ton about a lot of you and a great big old ton about myself as well, both good and bad alike. I've learned a ton about life, too, especially when it comes to making my journey as real and honest and open and transparent as I possibly can.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've had a few big "when you know you know" moments of my own that have precipitated within me a time of deep contemplation and soul-searching about several areas of my life, including the way I write this blog. Here's what most of you don't know ... there are many things I feel moved to write about that I don't. And there's really only one reason why I don't ... I don't write about certain subjects because of fear ... I'm  just plain old cotton-pickin' afraid to write about certain things. So ... consider this my disclaimer for all future posts ... not only am I not selling out The Tree House, I'm not selling out myself anymore either. I'm going to write what I feel compelled to write or moved to write or led to write or maybe, now and again, just what I want to write. I may change up the format and the layout, or I may not. Should you choose to continue reading along with me (and I hope you will!), I can promise you that some posts may cause you to laugh, some may cause you to ponder, some may cause you to question, some may cause you to cry, some may cause you to give, some may cause you to listen, some may cause you to change, and some may cause you to love. See ... here's the thing, friends ... when you know you know, you can't go back to not knowing you know. When you know you know ... well ... you just know you know.

Seems like there's only one way that's fittin' to close this post ... in true Beverly Hillbillies style ... "Y'all come back now, ya hear?"