OLW 2017

All of 2016 was intense.  To say the least.  Friends and coworkers have commented on "how strong you are."  Come November, I no longer felt strong.  I wanted the year to be over.  You see, my OLW for last year was hope.  I hoped my husband and I could support my mother-in-law through her battle with liver cancer, which ended up being a nine-month endurance challenge until we said goodbye.  I hoped that we could balance support for my family dealing with my father's dementia and the new challenges in our lives.  Then six weeks after my mother-in-law's funeral, my husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer.  Both kidneys.  And so I landed on a new word - Faith.  I continued to hold on to hope and look forward to a new year; a new start when I could breathe just a bit easier and feel as if I was not just treading water, but moving forward.  Come 2017, I told myself, I will I hold on to faith that we will see the blessings in the challenges, faith that we are in just the place we need to be, and faith that God will prove Himself faithful, again.

So as all years do, this one also has begun to pass.  Here we are on March 1, 2017.  On this day I am thankful that: my husband has recuperated successfully from two major surgeries, he is now cancer-free, my friends have continued to be loving and supportive, and how I have seen God's faithfulness repeatedly in multiple areas of my life.

So now, what will faith continue to look like across my life?

Faith might look like:
  - Answering the phone with a smile on my face
  - Leaving work with just a bit undone to spend time with family
  - Being vulnerable with colleagues to admit when I don't have all of the answers
  - Letting go of my worries, again and again
  - Basking in the sunlight, and enjoying that moment

It seems that the impact of 2016 has left me just a bit more empathetic, still, and cognizant of the tremendous amount of blessings in my life.  Hope and Faith are doing their good work in me!