To share about this year, I could mention achievements, or changes; for good or for worse. I could share the ups and downs, the days that lasted a little longer spent within my home. I could mention the shared struggle of an earth unable to turn as it did as the yesterday before.
But the only thing I really wish to share, is the true life I saw within this time.
And while I include the trends that united so many, and the shared experiences that had been discovered, I mean to share what I observed within my time spent observing.
On my front porch, I watched eggs hatch in to birds; and caterpillars grow by the hour. I watched plants flourish in unlikely ways, from the seeds in my hands to the vines by my feet.
I listened to the songs of children, young and sweet, the laughter of a few overwhelming my lost, bitter soul in joyous defeat. The music of a life strung by moments, strung like linens drying outside in the summer heat.
I lost myself in the love that was ever so graciously, given to me.
This time was one that I learned to love what made life what it is, at it’s very core; it was only until it was stripped away that I truly appreciated it more.
Life is not the next premiere, or release. It’s not the next event, or the next product to hit the shelves. It’s the moments spent laughing, it’s the dancing, it’s the singing. It’s the embrace of a familiar friend; It’s the second our regrets are lost in translation.
And I’ve probably spent every minute, every day, wrestling, thinking, grasping what this meant. 365 times to fully comprehend what this year was showing me. What a gracious, forgiving creator meant for me.
When the anguish of the dark showed up on my doorstep, I had to learn to let go of the very things I lived life for.
And I come before you now, no longer wishing I was the same girl.
The scars, the sins, and the guilt of a crime, no longer do I look to hide. I now make amends with this past strife.
And I can only wish I that I can say, that by the time I type another message, for the coming year, that I stand more changed than I am now.
The year comes to an end in a grand farewell, may the coming year reflect a new version of ourselves.