Sharon

Once upon a time there was a little girl with wide brown eyes and a tangle of dark curls who lived in a world of wonder. Her beloved apple tree was her confidante. Fairies danced through the flower beds. Birdsong rippled through her chest, and angels who knew her name pushed her high on a rope swing toward the sun.

Then came school—where guardian trees and unseen friends were declared imaginary. Numbers and facts replaced wonder, and the child’s companions drifted to Neverland to wait for her return.

That little girl was me.
And perhaps… she was you, too.

Years later, the veil lifted. During meditation in 1999, a voice invited me to sell everything and move to Spain. I didn’t speak the language. I knew no one. Yet every cell whispered yes.

In Spain, a Renaissance Black Madonna statue found her way into my care. Under her gaze I learned the alchemy of love –

fear softened into trust
judgment into compassion
doubt into wisdom
tears into grace—
until joy became my native language.

For seven years I followed her guidance across Europe and the United States. Through countless cultures and hearts I discovered that challenges aren’t punishments; they are invitations to remember self-love, innate wisdom, and the radiant Holy Child within.

One day a stranger placed a harp in my hands. The moment I touched it, something ancient sang awake. My fingers remembered, and the Divine began to sing through me.

Now the path itself has changed.
No longer hidden in cloisters or mountaintops,
Divinity now asks to be lived. . .
in art, in laughter, in kindness, in the simple joy of being human.

Today I’ve come full circle
back to the forest, back to wonder.
Here on an island in the Pacific Northwest,
I live as the Divine Human, letting life unfold through joy and inner wisdom.

My prose, music, and presence are invitations to remember:
to open the heart,
to let the mind rest,
to taste the magnificence of our divinity,
and to savor the joy of every precious moment.

A Personal Message from Sharon
A letter from my heart to yours,
offered in the company of the Black Madonna.

Many people tell me, “I wish I had a Madonna to guide me the way you do.”

My answer is always the same:
You already do.

We each carry a Black Madonna—look in the mirror and there she is, the feminine face of God reflected as you. Whether you call the Divine God, Goddess, Source, Creator, Great Spirit, or Higher Self, the language doesn’t matter. The relationship does. We each hear the Divine in the voice most intimate to our own heart.

For much of my life, I lived as a male essence in a female form, shaped by the patriarchy’s definitions. Only when I opened my heart and began to cherish the feminine aspects I had tucked away could I co-create in harmony with my sacred masculinity—within the Womb of Creation itself.

As the living tapestry of the Divine Feminine, the Black Madonna became the perfect guide for that journey into wholeness. She can appear as the Faerie Queen, as Mother Earth, or as the quiet presence beside you at dawn. Do not let the mind decide her limits; she will always arrive in the form most perfect for your awakening.

When I first followed her call in 1999—selling everything and stepping into the unknown—I couldn’t imagine what awaited me. The path was sometimes uncomfortable, as every birth is. Yet it has been a pregnancy of love, compassion, forgiveness, and profound grace—for myself and for all whose lives have touched mine. Through every transformation, I have learned this simple truth: we are eternally blessed and live by the amazing grace of the Goddess.

At first I believed Madonna’s messages were only for me—to teach self-love, inner wisdom, and joy that pointed toward some higher purpose. In time I realized: Divine Love is the higher purpose.

Humanity is now shifting into a heart-centered reality rooted in that same Love. The Black Madonna steps forward to midwife this next phase of our evolution. Her enlightened messages are meant to reach the many, not the few. She invites us to remember the expanded truth of who we are—Divinity embodied in glorious human form.

May her presence and these words remind you to fall deeply in love with yourself, discover your inner wisdom, rekindle your hidden passions, and reclaim your own Divinity. Most of all, may we join together in co-creating a new era of Love for all humanity.

With blessings of Love and Joy,
Sharon and the Black Madonna

Enjoy a treasure trove of my poetry “Wisdom of the Inner Voice” on my website Sharon Lyn Shepard. Share my zest for life as our consciousness continues to expand on my blog Divine Musings. Then pop over to my Amazon Author’s page and click the “Follow” button to be advised of newly released books !!

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