Reality.

This is the last week of being 22 for me…  I like to be reflective sometimes (when there’s nothing good on tv ), so I thought I’d reflect on the theme of 22. 

21 was a year of settling down post college, planting some roots and watering them with contemplation and intercession. It was a super big year of spiritual and relational growth while I was living in Grand Rapids. It was also a really, really fun year. I’m sure there were hard parts during that year but looking back from 22 it seemed like a darn near perfect year. 

I think 22 has been a year of reality. It was a year of change, I saw lots of transitions and lots of traveling, lots of airports and goodbyes. Also lots and lots of hellos and fun things; being in Uganda, moving to Omaha, being in Nepal (twice!), my family increased by like 100 people between the Nepal folks and the Ugandan folks. Calvin and I started dating, that’s a good thing from 22! The hello/goodbye of life was part of the reality that I saw during this year.

22 let me watch a lot of my idealism about people and life hit the road and get burned up a little bit. That is really good for me, I’m too idealistic and sometimes get busy trying to make life fit the perfect ideal in my head. I also realized how much of what I do and what I believe about my life is guided by the set of inner critics I fight with every day. (They tend to get pretty noisy during transition.) I’m hoping that maybe 23 will be a year of serenity and greater acceptance of my own imperfections and of the imperfections of the people that I love. 

I was born on March 19- St Joseph the Worker’s feast day. I love St Joseph. I’ve also had some sweet Josephs in my life, which gave me good feelings about the name. I love his commitment and loyalty to Mary and the way that he gave his stepson the gift of his trade and his love. He must have sacrificed so many of his own dreams and hopes when he found out Mary was having the son of God. He is such a great model of obedience and submission for me. 

I saw this at a church here in Omaha:

“St Joseph pray for us that we too may die in the arms of Jesus and Mary.”