Looking Back

So I recently started looking back over old blog posts. Man oh man! I was really hoping I would have had life figured out at 24. As I am sitting here texting with a close friend of mine from graduate school, I am reminded that I put deadlines on myself that are ALWAYS unrealistic.

By 24, I thought I had to be married, pregnant, in my dream job, with a killer house, and a fat bank account (or something like that).

Image by Bobbi and Mike

I'm 28, married, not pregnant, in my dream job (even though it is a maternity leave coverage ending February 20th), in an apartment, and a figure friendly, healthy bank account.

Accepting my Master's Degree

I still don't know who I am. I still have similar stresses and anxieties that I had when I was 24. They just look different.

Stress and Anxiety

The only thing that is different is my faith. I am closer to God than I have been in over 15 years (which is a guess). We have a great church family. My husband encourages me to pray and write (two things that help me put everything into perspective, if only for a moment).

This Sunday at church was the Presentation of the Lord. This is where Mary and Joseph brought Jesus, a mere 40 days old, to the temple for the purification ritual. Father Dexter, was encouraging us to not lose sight of the light of Christ in our lives. He was telling us that we will always have anxieties, stressors, and worries, but the light of Christ shines in all of us and is for all of us to experience. This light never fades, no matter how far away we are from it. We have just simple allow Christ to be our light. We have to practice letting Christ be our light.

This is such a beautiful message to remember when all of the stressors, anxieties, and worries get to be too much. Christ is our light, shining in the darkness (anxiety), and shining in our hearts.

Christ be our light.
St. Elizabeth Seton, Carmel, IN

I want to leave you with a part of mass that was part of the old translation of the mass (prior to November 2011). During the Eucharist, the priest would say, "When we were lost and could not find our way, you loved us more than ever." Just remember, if you don't feel or even see the light of Christ, he is still loving you.