I will praise you O LORD with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name O MOST HIGH.
Birthdays are my favorite! When I was a child, the big treat was not having to wash dishes. As I have grown older, I treasure quiet moments at home where nothing is required of me other than just to be. I love the special celebratory food choices and sitting with those I love most.
The preceding months to my June 18th birthday and turning a half of a century old, kind of hit me harder than I expected. Some lab tests didn’t come back quite like I had hoped and suddenly I was worrying more about my health and wearing a continuous glucose monitor to watch my sugar. That, honestly aside from all my normal dramatic flare, felt like a death sentence and something I could never get away from. I ADORE food…dreaming of it, cooking it, sharing it and of course eating it. The time adapting to the needed new lifestyle choices has been interesting. My prayer has been that my focus can stay on my Heavenly Father instead of despairing.
My husband planned a big surprise party for my big day and it was so much fun to celebrate. That evening another “fun country soul”, who sees life similarly to me said something that really made me stop and think. What’s next Dorothy? We’re kind of done with all the fun stuff….
My first response was, we ARE old aren’t we? But as I reflected on that mindset, I immediately thought about all the blessings God has given us like sweet friendship, beautiful Godly children, a home with a view and so much more.
While my 50 years has had its share of really hard things I have also had a more than fair share of really good things. I read something recently about how we usually see the most growth in the depth of our relationship with God during the hard seasons. That has challenged me! My goal for the next 50 is to grow deeper and bring God glory in each season bad and good.
REFLECTIONS: My highlights include the typical milestones like meeting and marrying the love of my life. I am also drawn to the many times we have seen God’s faithfulness through his miraculous provision, especially in the births of each of our precious babies, coming through when all hope seems lost. He walked with us so closely when Abby went to heaven and brought his literal salvation to our home in the midst of that darkest grief. He has gifted us with a huge answer to prayer for sweet friendship in the form of people who have walked along side of us and have pushed us closer to His heart.
DREAMS: I think sometimes in the hustle and bustle of busy life, and with our constant attachment to technology, we forget about the beautiful magic of dreaming. I don’t want to exist in state of numb exhaustion but want to pursue whole heartedly the person HE created me to be.
The past decade has changed the person I thought I was. While I am still extroverted by nature, I have found that I crave quiet and love love love sitting and reflecting, often with pen in hand (well laptop if I am honest) That has birthed a renewed desire to dream in the way that God has designed me specifically. The most imminent piece of my dreams is my writing. I am in exciting conversation with a publisher who will hopefully be helping me bring that part of my dreams to fruition.
Just for fun and since I LOVE words, I came up with 50 words/phrases to sum up/describe the last 50 years/seasons…
50. Fabulous, 49. Frazzled, 48. Joyous, 47. Hard, 46. Fun, 45. Frustrating, 44. Energizing, 43. Exhausting, 42. Easy, 41. Grief filled, 40. Learning, 39. Disconnected, 38. Adventurous, 37. Never Boring, 36. Long, 35. Short, 34. Yummy, 33. Sad, 32. Beautiful, 31. REALLY Hard, 30. Tearful, 29. Transforming, 28. Connected, 27. Memorable, 26. A Journey, 25. Super, 24. Zippy, 23. Growing, 22. Adulting, 21. Splendiferous, 20. Restful, 19. Exciting, 18. Celebrating, 17. Mothering, 16. Blank, 15. Teaching, 14. Loving, 13. Watching, 12. Grieving, 11. Happy, 10. Stressful, 9. Delicious, 8. REALLY Fun, 7. Discombobulated, 6. Moving, 5. Busy, 4. Grateful, 3. Irritating, 2. Blessed, 1. REALLY REALLY Blessed!