hello there
And holy moley have we been talking and talking and talking. We have been on the verge of making a big life change for a few months. We prayed about it, we sought advice and we went in the direction that we believed God was leading us in. You know when something feels so right until it doesn't?? The past two weeks we have never felt more confused, lost or conflicted. We thought this was what God wanted for us only to realize that perhaps it simply never was. It's hard to accept that sometimes the only way to learn something is by going through something unbelievably difficult. No matter how many times we go through life lessons we want to believe that we can learn massive life lessons without the tiniest of scratches to show for it. It's not possible.
And I'll be honest with you--we're exhausted. We got married young and we have been trying to navigate this journey of life for our family and our careers since college. Our path has been unique and not without difficulties, failures, triumphs and detours. Often it's hard to not look at people our age who have had more linear paths towards a career or success and not feel envious, not feel like "where did we go wrong?" We've both had setbacks since college and we're not where we want to be but we have to keep reminding ourselves that we are getting there, albeit slowly. Sometimes we get impatient and we get frustrated and those days are tough. Sometimes we're extra hard on ourselves and don't cut ourselves nearly enough slack.
But more than anything we must remind ourselves that this is our life. We put our life into God's hands daily and although we are not guaranteed a perfect life we are guaranteed his constant comfort, guidance and love. And his blessings that he bestows on us every day. And in the end our career or "life concerns" are really theoretical because practically speaking we live a wonderful life full of so much joy and beauty - the things that truly matter. Bank accounts, accolades and material possessions, although important, will never fulfill us the way our love for each other does. And it's thanks to this love and support that we have for each other that we will continue reaching for our dreams no matter how long it takes, how hard it is, how many times we get knocked down or how often we feel like we are back at "square one."
One thing we've learned time after time is even when something seems devastating to us in the moment God always reveals how he used it to enhance our life, grant us wisdom or point us in the right direction. That reveal sometimes takes months, sometimes even years but ultimately it was all for the best. And we can already see the light.
Speaking of light I recently came across this amazing site - Live Learn Evolve, through Danielle (who's blog is absolutely delightful!) and this post was exactly what I needed to read. Namely this:
"And if life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it. Even if you have no idea where you're going to land, be brave enough to step up to the edge of the unknown, and listen to your heart."
And that's exactly what we are going to do. We have already begun the process of planning something new, exciting and wonderful for our family. We've dusted ourselves off, we have prayed and listened and we are full of hope and faith. Because faith isn't faith if you only have it when you get what you want, true faith is only strengthened by disappointment and difficulty and finds ways to renew itself again. And there is no better time to renew faith and resolve than during this season.
Spring is finally here and with it we can feel so much good blossoming in our life. The other day I opened the door to our to our deck and was astounded by the warmth I felt. I instantly grabbed some blankets and we spent the late afternoon and evening enjoying the blue sky, sun and some phenomenal tomatoes I had picked up at the grocery store that morning. Birdie loved pointing at all the trees and birds and Belle was in heaven on a sun spot she found by the door. We stuffed ourselves silly with bread and cheese and cuddled up together as the sun began to disappear and a chilly breeze began to graze our foreheads. And right there in that moment we felt that we were going to figure this out. The three of us, together. We got this.I have so much to share with you, so much GOOD, and I simply can't wait to jump into spring with my arms wide open because it really is so true - it's always darkest before the sunrise!
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I have to say that this time away has been good for me. It's really helped me to re-focus what I want this space to be about and reminded me of why I love blogging in the first place. Part of it I must say is the fact that I stayed away from blogs in general. Not having to compare myself to others and to see what it is that I value, enjoy and love has been so refreshing for me. I've been seeing a lot of conversations about the incredibly materialistic and capitalistic nature of blogging these days and I have to admit I've been guilty of getting suckered in myself. I find that with instagram especially it's so easy to buy into the notion that you "need" this or "that." There's just so much SELLING going on these days and not a lot of writing and that just plain sucks. I hope you never feel that way from visiting this space. I hope to always keep this a place a journal of our lives. Inevitably "things" are part of it but it is always my goal when sharing things that they are something truly useful if not a necessity, because honestly with little kids you end up becoming a traveling circus no matter how much you detest "clutter." There are sippy cups, bottles, snacks, lotions, toys... you get the point. So in the end if I share about any of this it's because amongst the gargantuan mountain of baby crap out there I found something that's really kind of awesome. That's it. Period.