One Year

Thanks to the “On this day” feature on Facebook, I was reminded that one year ago today I posted my first blog. I remember being anxious about pushing the publish button. What if no one would read it? I soon came to realize, it didn’t matter if anyone read it or not. That’s not the point.

When I posted the link to my blog on Facebook that day, I included with it these words: “Be gentle with me.” I’m grateful that everyone has been gentle with me.

I could do a year in review but that seems a bit overkill considering I did that here and here. How many year in reviews does one really need? I think two may have been a bit much, personally.

Instead, I’d like to offer a few reflections on what blogging has taught me:

1. Like I already alluded to, blogging isn’t for you. It’s for me. Yes, I address you. I think about you. But, in the end, this isn’t for you. Just the act of writing – whether the topic is light-hearted or heart wrenching – it’s all therapeutic for me. I enjoy the act of writing. I enjoy coming up with things to ponder and expand on. I like the casual nature of a blog versus the more formal setting of academic writing.
2. Although this has diminished a bit since starting a new job, I appreciated the discipline that blogging brought to my life early on in the process. In 365 days I’ve written 150 blogs. During Lent I wrote daily (almost). Otherwise, I pushed myself to write once or twice a week. If I was more serious about my writing, if I really wanted to go farther with it, I could write everyday, but I think it would be somewhat forced and a bit contrived. Now when I write it’s because something really calls to me. I want to keep up with once a week, but I also offer grace to myself when that doesn’t happen. Discipline and grace – they go well together.
3. Although I don’t write to achieve a high volume of readers, I do hope what I write connects with people in some way. Recently someone found my blog via a hashtag. If I understood her comment correctly, she worked with the same family I did this summer on a mission trip. She was grateful for the way I wrote about that family – I’m so grateful she commented! I reconnected with an old friend earlier this year because she read my posts about infertility and wanted to share her story with me. Various topics have resonated with people along the way and I’m always so grateful when they tell me so. If I get personal satisfaction and relief in my writing and someone else gets an opportunity to reflect on that in their own life? Well, that’s a win all around!

For those that read along and comment, thank you. For those that read and silently reflect, thank you. For those who have supported and encouraged my writing, thank you. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already – and what a year it’s been! Thank for you allowing me this space to process, reflect and ponder this life I’ve been given. I’m so grateful you’ve chosen to join me on the way.

peace.