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I am back! - Letter from the Editor
Dear Readers,
It has been a while, I am so sorry! I have thought of you all and this blog quite often, but just have not been well enough to work on it. Now that I have had my sweet baby girl, I have much more energy, though less time, to get back into things! So, it may be slow on here for a bit longer, but I am excited to be back!
One thing that has stood out for me with both of my postpartum experiences, is how amazing the community is here in Dickinson. Seriously, I do not know anyone who has as much love and support when they welcome a new little one. We have had meals prepared and brought to us every other day for 3 weeks straight and a few bonus days in between. We have had gifts brought over, many helping hands with errands and babysitting our toddler while we go to the many appointments our little girl has had, and so many prayers and well wishes. Truly I am so blessed!
Communities like this don't just accidentally happen, they are the result of a few generous hearts who inspire others to join them in living out the great commandment to "Love your neighbor as yourself." Perhaps you are also blessed with an amazing community as well, if so, that is wonderful! Perhaps you are not in a phase in life where you need the support of a community, if so, then look around and see who could use that support. It doesn't have to be much, a little bit goes a long way. I won't go too much into practicals here, as I am saving that for the challenge of the month, but take a moment to see what support there is needed and see if you can help. I assure you, there will be grateful prayers sent up on your behalf!
Life really is pretty grand right now. I get lots of baby snuggle time, I get extra time with my husband while he is on paternity leave (yes, after 3 and a half years of marriage I still love spending time with him!), I get to watch my toddler become an amazing big brother, I feel well enough to go to Mass on Sundays again, and life is just as it should be right now: busy, exhausting, but wonderful!
The hard part for me is not being bitter about the time I "lost" these past months, as I struggled with extreme pregnancy exhaustion and morning sickness. It is hard to come out of a difficult phase of life and look back on it with the right mindset. Trust me, I tried offering up those rough months, but it just gets to be so tedious and unending.... I definitely was not a "cheerful giver" during much of it. I know that God sends us the crosses we need, and He never sends more than we can handle, but sometimes I felt that it was just too much, and just too unfair. Mature of me, right? Now that I am out of that phase, I look back and wish I could have handled it better. Oh, I am sure I will have more difficult phases to practice being a better sufferer in the years to come, but doesn't mean it is easy for me to let go of these past few months. I know I am no saint, and definitely still a work in progress. I guess that is just what I need to focus on, that this is "a journey towards eternal life" and I just need to keep my eye on the goal. Yes, reflection can be helpful, but I will never know how productive or unproductive my suffering was, so all I can do is place it in His hands and move on. Right now I just need to be grateful for this time of joy, and prepare my heart for the next trial God has prepared just for me.
I am sure you all have had your phases of life that have seemed unusually hard. It can feel overwhelming, exhausting, and discouraging. I pray that you may find the courage to remain generous and cheerful throughout it (something I am still learning to do). God is good, He has set a path for you that is most likely to lead you to Him, just trust Him. These crosses may not make sense to us, but they are the very real proof of His love for us and impatience to draw us closer to Him. He doesn't want to wait for us to have everything figured out, He wants to make us holy as fast as He can and so He challenges us. And then He sends us a time of joy to relift our spirits. In my case, that is my sweet little Diana Agnes! Have a wonderful last few weeks of summer and a very blessed Feast of the Assumption!
