All my empty nesting life, which has been about 10 or so years, I have suffered with a deep longing.

It is a longing so intense, it is almost impossible to suppress and much to my determination to balance it, “pow!” there it is, in all it’s desperate glory! I say “suffer” because the longing is so deep that to leave it unfulfilled is, indeed, a form of suffering.

That longing….. is the need to “nurture”. To embrace and bring life. I know it has to be a God thing because it is so engrained in my DNA, it can’t possibly be a “man-made” idea. Something so beautiful but so demanding all at the same time. So beneficial and yet sickness to the soul that finds no object for it’s expression.

Object, indeed. For no mere object can receive it’s nourishment. For it needs a heart. A welcoming heart to embrace it in it’s full purpose which is to cause things to grow and flourish. Anywhere this is not taking place, our nurturing instinct can spot it a zillion miles and emotions away and before long it is crossing the miles. Be it literal miles, or miles in the distance of a heart, it will go that distance to bring belonging, security and love.

It cannot help itself, stop itself or change itself. It is what God has given to care for the human race.

It has the power to halt tears, bring dreams to life and rescue from the lowest dungeon of discouragement. It’s potential has raised up world leaders, artists and influencers, who have marked our world and even changed the course of history.

However, without it, other influences mark our world in very detrimental ways, that many hearts are still reeling and recovering from. Some, our world may never recover from.

A sickness and emptiness comes to the souls of those who are never cradled in its virtue. Yet, its beauty is mocked, minimized and stripped of its value. At times, even by those who wield it, simply because someone was not wise enough to esteem its benefits or recognize its divine purpose.

God has provided nurturing so that we grow strong, confident and kind. So that we not only see our need but know that we are still loved and wanted, not in spite of it, but because of it. In turn, we are able to extend it to others without judgment but with sincere intention for the good of another soul.

I believe, in some respects, I am working to convince myself of its virtue, because I have allowed life circumstances and other voices to devalue this miraculous part of my soul that is very necessary to my own life and the lives of others.

So in my own discovery, I pass this message on to you. So that you are nurtured by it and inspired to pass it on to others. Eventually the beautiful souls of all those who nurture will hear the truth of their value and begin again to unveil this power and glorious virtue that can change a world. One heart at a time.