I don’t know about you, but when I watch a movie with an open ending, I’m left feeling unsatisfied (like when I really need dark chocolate, but settle for crunchy Skittles because that’s all the candy the kids left in the house.) I want to know how a story ends. I want to know if I should laugh or cry, or just hope for the best knowing that sometimes “best” is elusive.
For weeks I’ve been trying to decide what to do with this space that I have adored for so long. For six years, I have posted my writing and photos and have been encouraged, supported and befriended by many lovely people. I always wanted this blog to be a positive in world that has too much negative. For the most part, I think I did that. For the first five years or so at least.
This brings me to now. I am no longer JannaT and I no longer write so it doesn’t make sense to leave things hanging without an ending. I don’t know who I am or who I will be- I just know that I won’t ever be who I was. I will leave my blog here for now, a reminder of a chapter in my life, and perhaps it will entertain or encourage someone. I have no idea if words will ever be a part of me again, or if I will feel joy or passion, or any of the things that make time on this earth bearable. All I know is that as long as I breathe, I will strive to hope.
I really felt like I needed write something to thank all of the people who have perused my blog over the years. I wanted to tell those who enjoyed my writing enough to follow me- I appreciate your support more than you know. Lastly, I wanted to tell those that I got to know over the years that your friendship has meant a lot to me and I wish you all the best in your writing, photography, or wherever your passions lead you.
Sometimes things happen in life that force me to reflect. Reflection isn’t always easy…. just like looking in the mirror and acknowledging the cumulative effects of years in shades of gray and crevices along once-porcelain skin, reflection sheds light on ingrained patterns that led to some of my darkest days.
My weakest moments have shown me that faith is hope, and love is the way. Not romantic love. Instead, the love that is friendship and genuine caring for others; the kind of love that prompts me to do something just to make someone else smile. Because, when I can’t find the strength to smile myself, seeing someone else smile is enough.
Love is the guide.
Love is seen when it’s least expected
This weekend, I visited friends that I haven’t seen in a few years. I can think of many excuses reasons, but all of them are selfish. I showed up on their doorstep unannounced, Easter Lily in hand, and they welcomed me without any hard feelings whatsoever. We visited for hours, she shared some chocolate cake and hugs and we will go to lunch next month when I’m in town again.
This last year has shown me that when the passing idea to do something kind happens, don’t ignore it. When the thought turns into an urging that keeps resurfacing, I should definitely do something. With faith giving me strength and love as my guide, I’m ready to embrace the lessons that life has for me.
This one word describes pretty much every aspect of me and my life at the moment. There must be a lesson somewhere in all of this because I like things to be completed. Perhaps I’m supposed to learn patience. Or maybe the state of unfinished is meant to make me look at what’s really important in my life. I don’t expect to fully grasp how “unfinished” has changed me until time has passed and I’m looking over my shoulder.
I moved into my house a month ago. Everywhere I turn, I’m greeted by reminders of what I haven’t gotten done. As a person who likes neatness and order, this is difficult to deal with at times. I have broken towel racks that need to be replaced. I have no artwork hanging on my walls because I need to finish painting first. I have fabric I bought 3 years ago for window valances I never made for a house I no longer own. I would like to make them here. I need more time…
I want to write, but the things I need to do creep into my consciousness and strangle my creativity, like weeds in a vegetable garden. I struggle with darkness more than I would like, but I avoid sharing what I’ve written in this state because it’s depressing. I want to read blogs, but I get overwhelmed by the number of unread emails so I give up (which makes it worse!)
I am unfinished.
Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think we’re complete masterpieces until we’ve exhaled our last breath. I’m somewhere in between who I was and who I will be… but I don’t know what that means yet. Uncertainty has allowed me to exist in this state of flux for quite some time. I didn’t live last year. I breathed in and out, even when I didn’t want to, and woke up each day with the single goal of getting through it. It seems I’ve forgotten how to look forward; how to dream.
I hope words will come and allow me to write my way through this.
Unfinished is a process…… closer to finished than the day before
Sometimes we don’t have the benefit of knowing when our words or actions affect someone else, and sometimes we can’t see how or why things happen. This post is about a chain of events that has affected me deeply- where everything happened at the right time; so perfectly that I know it’s more than coincidence. This post may get lengthy, but I do hope you take time to read it.
I saw this rainbow when I stopped at the store at just the right time
I’ve wanted to write this post for nearly two weeks, but I couldn’t figure out where to begin. Now I’m thinking it simply wasn’t the right time because more has happened since the initial events I wanted to write about.
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I sat in church as the pastor delivered one of the most dreaded sermons: giving. It has to be one of the most uncomfortable topics to discuss, both for the pastor and the congregation. I have sat through many of these sermons, and frankly, have found some of them to be offensive and condescending. I felt differently this time, though. I heard the right words at the right time.The thought came to me that I should write and let him know. Just as quickly, I told myself that was crazy talk because of our history. Here’s a brief summary:
I won’t go into a lot of detail because my kids could possibly get their noses out of their games and come across this blog, but earlier this year, after I filed for divorce and other things didn’t convince me to change my mind, my husband scheduled a counseling session for us with my pastor- behind my back. He isn’t Christian and rarely attended church, so I saw it as manipulation (also concluded by other things he’d done.) I went to the session, but felt forced into it. The pastor affirmed that divorce is wrong and made a comment about how my hardened heart would cause me trouble in the future. I was upset because I felt unfairly judged, but I continued to attend church, however, avoided the pastor when possible.
Still, for nearly a week, my thoughts drifted to the pastor’s words from the giving sermon. On Saturday night, I wrote an offering check to give on Sunday. I then penned a hand-written note to the pastor and folded it around the check before sealing it in the envelope. In this note, I admitted that I had been thinking I would give an offering once my credit card bills were paid and I wasn’t living in a house I couldn’t afford and I now realized that this showed my lack of faith in God. That check was a symbolic leap of faith to show that I was finally putting my trust in God that He would provide. I also wrote that I didn’t really feel welcome there since the counseling session, but the money was for God not the church. I wrote other things- a full page, in fact, but I can’t remember exactly what.
To my surprise, I received a letter from the pastor. I don’t check my mailbox often, but I did on my way to work on December 9th (over a week after he wrote it.) In this letter, he told of how he’d been discouraged because the offerings once again didn’t meet budget. Some of his exact words: “I said to myself, “You know, I’m not going to preach on giving anymore because it never makes a difference. I don’t know how people can take it so lightly. Then I read your letter. Wow! It didn’t raise the offering any, but it reminded me of the real truth that it is God’s money and He always provides. Your letter was like the voice of the Lord to me.” He then assured me that I was welcome there and to let him know if I needed financial or emotional support.
I teared up. My words reached him at just the right time. And the knowledge of that reached me at the right time as well. I would never ask for a handout, but knowing emotional support was available came as a relief. He ended the letter instructing me to be at ease and know they were here for me. Life didn’t feel nearly as heavy.
That is where I first thought this post would end, with the message that we should never shy away from complimenting or showing love because it could very well be a case of the right words or actions being delivered at the right time. But like most late-night infomercials, life said, “but wait… there’s more!”
The same day I read the letter from my pastor, I got home from work to find a pallet of pellets sitting by my front door. (Pellets are a type of fuel made from recycled wood products and sawdust and are packaged in 40-lb bags. I use these in my pellet stove to heat the house.) I searched the plastic wrapping and found the store phone number and called because I knew there was a mistake. The woman looked up my information and said, “aw, that’s so sweet…. all it says here is ‘gift.'” I asked if she was serious and she said, “sweetie, someone gave you a $300 gift, be happy.” I was, but I still cried. I have no idea who did this, but I hope they know how grateful I am. I’m able to keep the house a little warmer, which is good for my younger son (that is another post.)
This is what a pallet of pellets looks like after I unloaded it into my garage
The gift of heat came at the right time. Knowing I have what I need to heat the house until at least mid-January lifted a huge burden. My house has been on the market since before summer and I’d been told winter months are slow for real estate, so I settled in for a long winter.
A few days after that generous gift, an offer came on the house – it’s now in escrow. I found another (much smaller) house and she accepted my offer. Inspections are next week. It’s all happened so quickly and it’s a blur – especially during the holidays, but it’s all happened at exactly the right time.
Last week, I qualified for a home loan. Even with the worst-case spousal support payout to my soon-to-be-ex, I qualified. More relief. As I was reading through the required documents, I saw ‘divorce decree’ listed. The loan officer confirmed that the final decree was needed to fund the loan. Trial is scheduled near the end of January, and my new house is scheduled to close the beginning of February. If my house would’ve sold during the busy summer season, I wouldn’t have been able to get a loan. I didn’t know that.
All of this is proof to me that even if things don’t happen on my time, they do happen at the right time. It’s also shown me there is comfort in loosening my white-knuckle grip on control and trusting that God will provide. I have a feeling that as I learn to share more freely, I will experience some positive life-changing side-effects.
If you’re reading this, it means you survived this lengthy post. Thank you for not giving up! I will keep up with blog reading as best I can, but the next month or so will be really crazy for me. Just know, it is only temporary 🙂
Have a beautiful Monday and I hope you enjoy the blessings of the season!
There is something I really want to write about, but I’m forcing myself to sort of stay focused. There are some things that I need to close the loop by updating you about what has happened, and I’ve heard that loose ends should be tied up quickly before readers lose interest.
Uh oh. I waited too long, didn’t I?
I could tease you like they do on the evening news, when they give you a little tidbit that seems interesting, and then follow it by adding “after the break.” But I won’t do that because that’s annoying! So I’ll get right to it…
In this post way back on October 24th, Timothy asked in a comment if I decided what color I was going to paint my nails. I cringe when I look at the date and see that it’s taken nearly 2 months, but yes, Timothy, I have! And a picture’s worth a thousand words:
My most favorite color- purple! Is it just me, or is “purple” fun to say? Never mind…
In my last post, I previewed my ugly sweater creation, and a couple of you were curious about the results of the contest. SO, for the two of you who were interested, or feigned interest, haha, here’s a picture (another thousand words… this post is getting long):
I won the ugly sweater contest and received a generous gift card. Now that I think about it, I hope the votes were just for the sweater and not my hair!
In this recent post, I stated that I was on a mission to find out how many pictures one could take of sleeping cats. In the time since that post, I’ve added several to my collection (photos… not cats- yet!) Here’s my favorite one:
This is how I feel as I wrap up writing this post. Nighty-night!
There is lots going on, and so much more I want to write about, but I think this post has been random enough. Until next time, have a wonderful week!
JannaTWrites 