Proud Member of the Late Bloomers' Club!

Late Bloomers....Get it?

Before I got married, I was a spoiled brat and I know it. I let stuff happen and relied on mom and dad to take care of it if it went kablooie. After I married in 1994, I pretty much just transferred it to him. After all, everyone around me told me that was how a "good Christian wife" should be and if played into my greatest strength: Being Irresponsible.

Fast forward thirteen years or so to June 2007 when Mt. St. Helens blew up in my living room. All of a sudden I was face with having to do it ALL BY MYSELF. To be honest, I didn't actually start taking care of myself until January 2008. It still took me almost a year to figure out how to pay my bills (on time!!) without hyperventilating. I cried A LOT. I hid under my blanket A LOT. I found a reliable and trustworthy support system in my friends, IRL and online, and I called them A LOT. I prayed A LOT. I cried A LOT more.

It's 2011. I still hide sometimes but at least the bills are paid and even if the remaining balance is just this side of $0.00, I did it and I know I did it and if it didn't get done right, I know how to fix it (or at least who to call for help).

It's a process. It hurts like a toothache sometimes but...I am more sure than anything else that it was worth it. I am far more content and complete than I ever was before. Four years ago I didn't think I would ever say that. Now I can't imagine living like the person I was back then. 

In a couple of months, I will graduate with my Masters degree in Library Science. I may or may not go on to get a PhD or JD, but all the options are open for me. The world has never looked so bright to me before, even after I received my B.A in 1991. Why? Because this time I chose. I didn't let things happen to me. I didn't allow someone else to make a decision for me and I didn't lay down and die when things went kablooie. I made a plan. I stuck to it. When a little something called LIFE happened to the original plan, I had Plan B in my pocket. And Plan B knocked it out of the park!

This is not to say I haven't had some curve balls thrown my way, but it is amazing what you can withstand when you pray, and are willing to keep moving even through the rain. And when you keep moving, people help you along. They walk with you because they are going places, too, and they also need help standing up and moving on. So you link arms, virtually and literally, and soon you aren't just two or three. You have an army standing with you, cheering with you, and you are standing with them and cheering with them, and so on and so forth, and round and round. It's a wonderful thing!

How very good and pleasant it is
   when kindred live together in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
   running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
   running down over the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
   which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
   life for evermore.
Psalm 133

Hang on baby! December is coming! God be praised!

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner!

Relevant Reading
Psalm 133
Ephesians 4:1-5
And Still I Rise
Stand in the Rain
Looking for Something Good
King of Anything (cover by Sam Tsui)