EW Shame :: Reclaiming fulfillment

I want a life that sizzles and pops and makes me laugh out loud. And I don't want to get to the end, or to tomorrow, even, and realize that my life is a collection of meetings and pop cans and errands and receipts and dirty dishes. I want to eat cold tangerines and sing out loud in the car with the windows open and wear pink shoes and stay up all night laughing and paint my walls the exact color of the sky right now. I want to sleep hard on clean white sheets and throw parties and eat ripe tomatoes and read books so good they make me jump up and down, and I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave life to someone who loves the gift. ~Shauna Niequist, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life

We now come to the third gate.

That quote above is one that has been inspiring me for a few years.  It meant so much to me a couple years ago that I turned it into an art piece that now hangs in our downstairs bathroom.  

This quote has said many things to me over the years, and what it speaks to me about now is fulfillment... living a fulfilling life... what it means to be fulfilled.

When we first passed through this third gate on our descent, we left behind the hurts we had been carrying with us that we were ready to let go.  Now as we pass back through, I invite us to fill that space with