Dear Beloved,
Merry Christmas from the Wayrad household! Our year has flown past! Chasing after two little ones is the most rewarding and exhausting thing I’ve ever done. 2011 has been year full of potty training (for mommy AND baby!) bedtime stories, and celebrating our sixth year of wedded bliss. Life is good…
Okay, now for reality — If you would have asked me a decade ago – I would have imagined that my Christmas letter in 2012 would have sounded something like that. I would have been busy being sanctified through marriage (to Mr. Wayrad) and with young children, keeping up with the house, and trying to find a little “me time” in between all of it. But that’s not what my Christmas letter sounds like. That’s not what my life sounds like.
No, my current life is no where near what I would have imagined years ago, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t just as beautiful, rewarding, stretching, hilarious, and sanctifying as the life imagined above. I’ve been learning that over and over again this year. So here’s my real letter: I continue to work as an Occupational Therapist, part-time writer, part-time crafter, and part-time discipler (yes, 4 jobs – go figure!) These varied jobs never let me feel bored and all find unique ways to use my God-given gifts and talents.
Over and over again this year I’ve said that I wish I could feel the same depth of joy and thankfulness for the things I do have as I feel the depth of longing for the things I don’t. That is – I wish I felt the same depth of emotion for my friendships and freedom (which I currently have in spades!) as I long for a husband and children (which I currently do not have). I’ve come to understand that thankfulness is not a feeling – it’s a choice. And I want to choose to be thankful for where life has me every day!
Friendly Jas, by Cool Hand Luke, is my favorite song of all time. The lyrics conclude, “Together we run/to what we do not know/ trusting our God/ who made tomorrow.” I’ve always loved that! When I think back to what I imagined my life to be as my twenties concluded, I got it all wrong! But my life is beautiful, spontaneous, and full of laughter, friendship, and variety. I wouldn’t change it. I want to run the race that has been allotted to me – trusting my God who made tomorrow!
Choosing to be Thankful in All Things,
Kelly