Rooted

How does one start blogging again after such a long hiatus? This has been a question I’ve been asking myself but I am realizing I just need to write through it and not over-analyze or criticize myself in the process.

It’s been a year and a half since my last post about coming home after my ’50 States of Grief’ roadtrip. I would love to be able to tell you that I was done writing my book from that trip but I’m not. The last year and a half has felt like a whirlwind of more travel, more grieving and most of all, celebrating life and enjoying friends and family.

My word for 2019 has been ‘Rooted’. After a lot of years of feeling uprooted and feeling adrift, I wanted to commit much of this year to being home and getting myself out of the routine of frantic ‘coming and going’. I have struggled with depression over the last few years, partly in the wake of losing my mom, and I wanted some time at home to be able to face it head on rather than dragging it around while traveling and never being able to fully engage and enjoy each moment.

I don’t often give enough credit to the impact that our lifestyles have on our wellness and our beings. After my most recent trip last fall, I felt myself continually getting stressed over the people I needed to catch up with, the things I needed to get done and the preparations I had to make for going away.. then I would pause, breathe and remind myself that I was home and would be home and I didn’t need to get everything done in one day. I’ve been learning how to enjoy each day for what it brings and have taken great delight in various routines with friends that bring great joy. It has been a deepening of learning how to rest in each moment whether my schedule is full or wide open.

Although my evenings are still quite full and my schedule is often booked, I feel like I have been able to settle more into simplicity. Of course I have a long way to go in this, but I’ve taken steps toward it and I want to celebrate that. One of my favourite routines in the past few months has been sitting on my couch with my cup of tea in the morning reflecting on life and resting in God’s presence. I trust that as I have been physically rooted to one place, there are other roots growing within that I’m not even full aware of- I love how this reflects the mystery of God in how God transforms and works within us.

One of my hopes in being more rooted is to do more writing. Although this hasn’t happened until today, I’m excited to see where it goes and am thankful to you for joining me on the journey. So, stayed tuned for more posts in the near future!