Thank you for joining us today as my very dear friend, Tamela, shares her heart and thoughts on this past Easter weekend. It’s sure to inspire you.

Meet Tamela!

Tamela Hyatt Jasmann was born in Rhode Island and traveled the Eastern Seaboard extensively as the young child of a Naval Intelligence Pilot. From Rhode Island to Key West, FL with forays into the Mid-West and upstate-New York as her father served two tours in Vietnam, Tamela has been blessed to see much of the country to which she is deeply committed. Her father perished in a plane crash months prior to Tamela turning 13 and this pivotal memory has guided most of her life; making sure her father/guardian angel in heaven would be proud of the daughter he brought into this world. Tamela is now a very active volunteer with the Ladies Auxiliary to the Veterans of Foreign Wars; something she believes honors the memory of her beloved father. The cycle back to Dad is complete. Her devotion to veterans is so deep that she is her auxiliary’s president-elect for 2014-2015 and has been appointed to serve as the Legislative State Chairman for Arizona as well. Working with veterans, serving veterans – this is her life’s goal now; whether that be through promoting scholarships for our youth or working to pass veteran-beneficial legislation at the state and federal levels or bringing smiles to our veterans in the VA hospitals, treatment centers and homes, yes, home has been fully found again!

I awoke today feeling refreshed, renewed. For me, because of disabilities, waking with a “glass half full” attitude isn’t always possible and so today, especially, I found the ease and comfort of the morning more than enjoyable – it was heart-opening. It felt as if God said to me – or I finally was able to hear Him in the stillness – “It’s time to know the truth,” while handing me The Gift. I need to share my joy if you’ll permit me!

It is my habit upon waking to prepare a pot of coffee, grab the phone and head to my backyard where I am most often greeted by birdsong, blue skies and a sense of peace and quiet that, considering I live in a big city, is remarkable. The time it takes for the coffee to be made is usually spent in spiritual introspection and having my morning chat with God, asking for His guidance throughout the day and to beam bright white light on those I love for protection, love, safety and their well-being. For me, my God does not reside in any one church or religion, He is all around me if only I pay attention. I also talk with Him about me and helping me but none of the above makes me too very different that anyone else praying or talking with God.

This morning as I sat outside and began my meditations with God, I felt an ease and lightness I had not experienced before. What I was aware of this morning is how I seem to take my troubles to God but forget to thank Him for all He does and has done for me other than my standard opening of, “Thank for your another day of travel on this path called Life.” This is not to say that I do not thank God regularly for the many blessings in my life but rather an acknowledgement that during that morning time, I seem to come from a negative space instead of being positive about His love, His light, and all the many gifts, small and large, that God leads me to and through. What I have come to realize is that God is in my head and not so much my heart. I intellectualize God and His Love as something to be examined and taken apart like I know better than He how life should run. I question Him when I could be more loving and accepting of what simply is…His Love.

At the ripe age of 53 (yes, I can be a bit stubborn!), I saw this morning ever so clearly The Gift of today, The Gift of Easter! It is not a day of solitude and reflection but one of righteous joy for on this day His Son, who died so my sins would be forgiven, was resurrected so that I may have eternal life! I finally see His Gift!! It’s like the very words, “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting LIFE!,” have come alive in my heart and I sing from a place I’ve never known before! And that life is in the Kingdom of God and the pain and sorrow of being human will be shed and only love and forgiveness will surround me! It is God who gives me life and breathe and love…and ultimately forgiveness for someone like I who took so long to see. There truly are “none so blind as those who will not see.”

Today I am renewed, cleansed, thanking God for all HIs many Gifts, not the least of which is the gift of living long enough to finally see and feel The One True Light…beaming on me! “I was blind but now I see.” Today I know in my heart that each day is a gift to be celebrated, each moment a chance for gratitude and renewal, peace and forgiveness! It is not my job to seek out what is bad or wrong around me but to seek God and all the many ways He gives me life and ability. Today I know that I AM because HE IS!!

Enjoy the gift of today, the Gift of God’s Son in our lives, the joy of living each day basking in His Love. Seek love and gratitude. That is my hope and gift for today, I hope yours is equally as large and wondrous!

Thank you, Tamela, for these beautiful words! You ARE a world changer. I am proud to call you my friend and sister of the heart!