Happy Anniversary!!!

I let a rather important anniversary slid past the other day without really any mention at all. August 12th was the one year anniversary of the beginning of my blog. Over the period of one year I have posted 266 blogs, which compared to 365 days in a year, that isn’t too bad of a percentage. I have had 5061 visits which compared to some of my juggernaut blogging friends that isn’t many, but it is far above what I would have ever dreamed of.

Over that time I hope that you have laughed along with me, cried with me, been angry with me (and at me:) and hopefully, just shared the simple joys and mundane things of life together.

I have been thankful to have you come along with me on this journey. It has been a difficult, wonderful, challenging, aggravating, and inspirational year for me. I have learned more than I could ever have imagined, been challenged more than I thought was possible and accomplished things that I wouldn’t have dared hope were possible. And, you have been with me every step of the way, through the good the bad and yes even through the ugly.

When I began this blog, I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to deal with the stress and pressure that was building in my last year of seminary. I had just completed a challenging interview by the District Board of Ordained ministry and they made it quite clear that the road to Commissioning would be extremely difficult. I was facing my last year of seminary, a trip to El Salvador that I wasn’t sure how I would be able to pay for, and oh yes that little thing about the March interviews with the Board of Ordained Ministry that would have at stake my entire future in ministry. It was with those obstacles and challenges facing me that a friend reminded me how much better it would feel to write these things down and how much better perspective I could get simply by putting my thoughts and concerns down on paper.

So with that thought in mind, I began my blog, not having any idea if I would write for a week, a month, a year or who knows how long, and certainly not imagining that anyone would be interested in reading my inner most thoughts. (kind of scary sometimes aren’t they:) A year later I can now look back and reflect on those obstacles, some of them were simply mole hills and others truly were mountains. But, through it all, you have been right there with me and for that I am very grateful.

So where do we go from here? Do I keep writing? Do I say to my blog, mission accomplished and put it away until needed again? I think for now I will be a little like Forest Gump when asked why he was running, to which he replied, “I just felt like running” For now, I just feel like writing and as long as it continues to feel like the thing to do, I will keep doing it, and if along the way my writing helps me to make a new friend, become a little closer to an old friend or just help others to realize that they aren’t alone, then I will be very pleased with the result:)

Thanks for sharing this journey with me!

Blessings