Prior to this week, I haven’t written one iota since August of 2018. I didn’t intend to stop writing, it just sort of happened. That fall I took on a new adventure in our homeschool co-op which not only took up a lot of my time and mental energy, but it ended up starting me on a whole new life path. But that is a story for another day.

I figured I would get settled, and begin again after the holidays…but again, I found myself too busy, too distracted, too this and that to get back to the keyboard.

I began to feel guilty, like I was failing somehow. But this too is a story for another day. Suffice it to say, I finally got to the place where I truly let this blogging gig go. Now those of you who have walked this online journey of the past few years know that the reality is that I’ve been mostly off the radar, angsty, in and out of the blogosphere for some time. But I finally let it go inside my head.

My prayers changed from a guilt-ridden, ‘Help me get more consistent and disciplined with my writing’, to a calm and peace-filled, ‘Lord, I’m giving this part of my life up to you. If you want me to go back to it, let me know. Otherwise, I’m just going to go about the work You’ve put in front of me and forget about it.’

And so I did. Mostly.

There have been many days I’ve thought, I should write this down so I don’t forget, or this would make a great post, but then I would get busy and indeed forget what was so noteworthy.

Then a couple of months ago the stirring began, the desire to build my standing stones once more. This is hard to articulate, but last week when I opened my current devotional, John Eldredge’s Restoration Year, I just knew it was the word I’d been waiting for. The day’s devo was titled, Stones of Remembrance, and the first sentence read, ‘Can you name five beautiful truths that came to you last year?’ That same day, two of my dearest friends told me (separately) they had been praying for me and were thinking I should start writing again. Confirmation.

So here I am, out of hibernation, not quite sure how this is going to look, how to jump back in after being gone for so long. It was John Eldredge’s words that got me to thinking…can I name five beautiful truths that came to me this past year? And so that is where I will begin, with five of the many beautiful truths my Father has shared with me this past year. We’ll explore the first of these next time.

In the meanwhile, I do want to give a shout out to two incredible women who have encouraged and loved me through the past few tumultuous years. I’ve not met either one in real life, but I consider them friends all the same. The first is Nancy Ruegg who blogs over at From the Inside Out, and Anita Klumpers at The Tuesday Prude. They are both fantastic writers, but more importantly, they both love Jesus and use their talents to shine as His reflections. They have affected me more than they know and I love them dearly.

So, until next time, my friends, grace and peace to you and may you enjoy the remainder of this holiday season!

🌸Rebeca