Is your life today what you pictured a year ago?

A year ago, I was doing great, professionally. Enjoying a role where I felt at ease, felt appreciated. I loved my job and the team I was leading. I expected that would continue or even get better for the forseeable future. It was a great season for work!

But relationally…not so much. My wife and I had recently made the hard decision to disconnect from our church. I’d experienced some ambiguous loss due to decisions made and actions taken by a church leader – someone I’d considered a friend. After several attempts to course correct with the friend, we felt the only option left was to disconnect altogether. And, we’d only been part of the community for a little over a year at that point. We had no family, no one to really lean on except each other. And, well, we were not in an enjoyable season at that time, either. We were doing some couples and individual therapy, and I had just come face-to-face with a part of me I had never recognized and did not like! To be clear, I’m grateful for that – now. It was good, but it was not easy or enjoyable in the least.

A year ago, I didn’t have a very clear picture of anything, except work.

Today, work is the muddiest part of the picture. I have no team to lead. It’s just me, doing contract work. But I’m okay with it. And we moved into the area where most of my family live, and we are with them frequently. We moved here for family. And that comes with its own set of challenges. But I’m glad we’re here.

No, I would’ve never pictured this a year ago. And relationally, we’ve come SO far in a year! I had no idea it could be like this. Not that everything is perfect, but it’s good.

Really good!