5 years later

Well, here we are, over 5 years since my last entry on this blog.  My life has changed in many ways in these years.  I have moved five times, walked a 500 mile pilgrimage, lost a grandmother, gotten married, have had two children and three miscarriages, had my dream job teaching middle school religion, "retired" from teaching after 14 years, and lived in a nationwide quarantine.  I feel as though I am a completely different person than I was 5 years ago.

Tomorrow is my 40th birthday; I can barely bring myself to type those words!  I feel about 28 years old most of the time, and yet, I'm not 28.  And you know what, I'm glad I'm not 28.  In fact, I'm glad I'm not 38, or 18, or any other younger age.  I feel I know myself now more than I've ever known myself before.  And that better understanding of myself, as well as better understanding of the world, my place in it, my relationship with God, and my role in His Church, has led me to such a different place than I've known before.  A place of contentedness.  Not lukewarmness, or boredom, but a place where I am rest in my knowledge of myself, my strengths and weaknesses, my goals, my gifts, and a place of hope and peace in knowledge of God.  A place of confidence and trust in his plan for me and his Church.

This is 40.
The waves don't rock my boat,
the rain doesn't wreck my hair,
even this crazy coronavirus can't break me.

Hang in there, everyone, and when in doubt, reflect on some positive ways you've grown in the past 5 years.