#TuesdayTreasures: Special Guest Post by Melanie Purifoy!

Good Morning Friends,

Today it is my great pleasure to introduce you to a very special friend of mine. Melanie and I met about ten years ago when we worked together to produce her book, One Touch: A Woman's Journey to Wholeness. Over the span of time, Melanie's life underwent many changes and like a lot of folks, the book rested on her hard drive and in the back of her mind.

Today, One Touch is available for your reading pleasure! I'll share more about the book in a little bit, but first Melanie shares with us something she treasures.....Relationships...

As I contemplate the topic of what I truly treasure, many things come to mind with a brief explosive element of excitement. As a cancer survivor, I feel I should humbly and gratefully say "life". However, my life is truly joyous because of my relationships. The one constant is my life has been the exploring, building, and healthy maintenance with the people in my life. I have studied boundaries and forgiveness. I have worked on my own codependency. And I have learned the importance of patience, compassion, and understanding.

I treasure my friendships, family, mentors, and students. And in each individual case I have come to understand that working to have the healthiest relationship possible is always my gift to myself. I become enlightened in new ways and my perspective shifts into a multi-dimensional view of the world and the people in it.

There was a time when I managed a large number of people in a Fortune 500 company. My strength was influencing people to get jobs completed and deadlines met. I was highly effective at this and prided myself on my ability to take a troubled project and turn it into a finished, fully functioning environment in a matter of a few short weeks. I would fly back home feeling proud and accomplished. However, I could not have told you one thing about any of those people's lives that I had just spent numerous hours with all working together to complete a goal. And once the feeling of pride and accomplishment dissolved, I felt lonely.
Today I treasure the brief visits with my busy children, the phone calls with my aging mother who lives over 800 miles away, and the quiet evenings my husband and I spend as empty-nesters. I cherish my visits with my grandson and share little pearls of insight about God, forgiveness, and loving one's self. He is a wise, old soul for such a young man.

I feel very proud that I have passed down the importance of relationship building to each one of my four children. They too cherish their relationships while maintaining healthy boundaries that nourish their souls.

My interaction with others strengthens my connection to God and enhances my personal relationship with Christ. I value the life lessons that have brought me here. And I will continue to always cherish the people in my life as precious treasures.

Melanie Purifoy draws from her own experience as a two-time cancer survivor bringing to life the character of Rebekah, the bleeding woman healed by Jesus in the New Testament. After being diagnosed with invasive cancer she began a one-day-at-a-time healing path to recovery. Her miracle brought into focus that healing one’s body, mind, and spirit can only be attributed to God’s grace and her willingness to reach out for the gifts He had bestowed upon her.

After training and becoming a certified Heal Your Life coach, a course developed from the methods and philosophy of Louise Hay, Melanie founded Conscious Creations, a support network for cancer survivors, their families, and physicians. Using the principles of forgiveness and acceptance as the basis of her teaching, Melanie conducts workshops and life coaching. One Touch A Woman's Journey to Wholeness is a result of her compassionate insight into the lives of minor characters of the Bible and can be found at Amazon (Kindle) and Smashwords.

Well, I'm sure we can all relate to Melanie treasuring the relationships in her life. Check back Thursday when she shares some thoughts with us on Transparency vs Invisible.

Until then, take care & God Bless!

PamT