This time of year we all receive letters from people that we probably haven't heard from since last year's Christmas letter. These are messages that have been cleaned up and polished to only show you great vacations, perfect kids and pictures that the muffintops are concealed in. So here is a real Christmas letter...
January started out with me driving back to Clarksville after a long weekend off at home. I hated every minute of the drive because I knew the destination was not somewhere I wanted to be. Most of January was sad and gloomy... really the only ray of good news was a video I got while waiting for one of my kids to get done with the psychiatrist telling me that Stacey and Jason were going to have a baby girl.
Winter pushed on with me hating living in southern Indiana more every day. I worked with people who didn't always tell the truth and often times only had their own interest in mind. I felt like I was on an alone uphill battle to put the children first, which I never succeeded at.
Finally, we got baby Elliott on April 29 and it seemed like all was right with the world again. Except I still lived in southern Indiana and I just found out that we would all be losing our jobs because Kingsfield was closing.
May flew by and then I was unemployed. My last shift was May 28th. I went home to celebrate Mr. B's 3rd birthday and it was happy. Over the next four months, I went back and forth from home to Clarksville looking for work... any work. I did some odd jobs, spent times with friends and ran out of money. I filled out over 600 applications and only got three interviews. I was at the end of my patience.
In August, I moved in with my parents... the only financial decision I could make and went from being an autonomous, independent person to a person completely dependent on others and having to tell people when I'll be home, who I was with and what I was doing. Goodbye pride. However, I am grateful I had a place to call home.
FINALLY in September I started a job that I absolutely love. But I am still working on financially getting back on my feet. My anxiety increased as we approached Christmas and I decided I needed to take something for it. I met someone who I love but am simultaneously kind of freaked out by.
My family had their difficulties this year, especially with the Fry's health. I drove about 40,000 miles and never really went anywhere. I read 70 books (to date). So, no it wasn't a bright and shiny year at all. However, I can say with absolute certainty I learned more about God this year than ever before. The realness of the Gospel was tangible. The Holy Spirit was my comfort and guide. I would take learning more about who God is in relationship to me than a great, shiny, perfect year any day.
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