The world has changed a lot since I last wrote here. I managed this blog for 3 years or so, detailing my experience of grief and the wrestling of my faith. It’s been 4 years since my last update.

I have been feeling the itch to write again, but so much has happened since I met Patton in the summer of 2019. I figured I should fill in the gaps and provide context for the new series of posts I want to write.

I know that many people have connected with me on Facebook and Instagram. The rest of this post will not be news to you, but for those of you who do not spend time on social media, here are some fun happenings that you have missed.

1. I got married!!!

Photo credit: Angela Demsick Photography

Neil and I eloped a few months after I wrote about dating as a widow in 2019. We will be celebrating our 5th anniversary this fall. I’ll be unpacking more of our story in future posts. For now, I will just say that I love this man and I can’t wait to brag about him soon.

2. We bought a house!

Another fun adventure was working our way through the Habitat for Humanity program. It took a year’s worth of classes and build hours. All of that effort paid off in the most literal way. We pay a mortgage for the full value of our home but it is interest-free. Which, as any homeowner knows, the interest essentially doubles the monthly payment. We moved into our brand new home in the spring of 2020, just a few weeks before Nashville issued the Stay At Home order. I cannot express my gratitude to have had a safe, affordable home in which we could safely weather the storm of COVID-19.

3. I’m back in school!

Marriage, my children starting school, and a reasonable mortgage payment, together allowed me to return to the pursuit of a degree in social work. I am currently wrapping up my 4th semester and will graduate with my BSW in December. I plan on going right into an accelerated Master’s degree program immediately afterward.

I’m so excited to finally be able to invest in myself and work toward a career that my whole life has been preparing me for.

That about sums up the highlights of the last few years. In future posts, I am sure to unpack these events in further detail. Historically, I have primarily written about my story and thoughts about grief, relationships, and faith. I will continue to write about those things, but I will likely expand the topics to include what I have learned in my social work education such as issues of mental health, poverty, food security, and the full array of struggles and pain people face in our broken world.

PS. If you have read this post, would you please comment a hello so that I can see if this platform is still active?

Psalm 16:6-11
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

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