Reflecting on a Journey

I blogged for the first time about 11 years ago. Months before that I had made a major change – uncharacteristic for me. I moved away from deep, deep friendships and a church that had been a lifesaver for me and landed 1000 miles away working for a non-profit, faith-based missions organization.

My life and emotions had been on a roller coaster. My husband had left after 25 years of marriage. I had to re-enter the job market after years of being a stay at home mom and volunteer. My kids were (appropriately) leaving home for college and other pursuits.

I felt a restlessness. After years of feeling I could barely breathe, I was feeling stronger and healed, less timid and fearful, and ready for a future – in many ways on my own – that looked very different from what I had anticipated for my mid-50s.

Blogging became a way of processing life and change. It was a way to share a story with others – hopefully a story that encourages them to believe that hope is possible even after deep valleys. That healing journeys toward wholeness are worth the pain and effort of taking them. To help people feel understood (they are not alone) and to help others understand people going through experiences they haven’t.

Since making the move in 2011, I’ve built Parent Ministry at Adventures in Missions – a chance to help parents vet us as an organization, understand what we do and why we do it, and to encourage them to see their son or daughter’s extended mission trip as an opportunity for a journey of their own.

So along the way, I’ve written some for parents as well.

I’m an inconsistent blogger. But I’m looking back at these years and it seems time to move onto a new platform, revisit the blogs I’ve written (do some tweaking and editing) and re-launch the story.

For the first few months, the primary content will post with little time between posts and it will be previously written material with some updating and additional reflection as appropriate.

After that, I think I have some new thoughts to share.

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