another year of life . . . again

So, my birthday has come and gone. All in all, not a very eventful day. Work, dinner with my mom, my sister and brother-in-law arrive for a visit. But a good day.

I went back and read the post I wrote around my birthday last year. I was reflecting on where I was in my journey with God. This has been another year of life where I can say that the journey I'm on with God has continued. I am in a different place than I was this time last year. And yet, there are many things that are the same too.

I still have the same job . . . and I still love it most days. I still have the same great friends as roommates - for a while longer at least. I still have the same great family I did then - and two great brother-in-laws added to the mix.

Both other things have changed. In a short time I will be moving - staying in the same city, but in a different place to call home. I've started to feel connected at church again - in a place that I never thought I would, women's ministry. I thought of women's ministry as the place my Mom and my Grandma were, not where I belonged for so long. But, this year, it really has begun to feel like the place I should be - a place where I look forward to being a part of things.

And my answer to a request to describe what my journey with God has been like lately is different. I no longer feel like I am in the midst of a dark, overgrown forest where all I can see is the next step.
I feel like I have made my way out of that forest into the light - into the open area beyond it. A place with colour, and light, and streams running through. A place where I can just enjoy spending time with my Lord and hearing from Him, rather than clinging for all I am worth to the little I can see.
It is a much different place to be. I am not sure it can be said that it is a better place to be to, because I can see now the growth of the time when I could barely see the next step ahead. It is a different place to be. A place I know I probably will not stay forever, but a place I will enjoy for every moment I am here.