Previously, I wrote about my reframing walk and acceptance of who I am at this stage of my aging life. Walking is my healing grace. It’s where I meet The Divine for long conversations about my life, relationships, and my place in the world.
I am fortunate enough to live in a town where I can walk to expansive neighborhoods, to the grocery store, or local restaurants. It is uplifting to stop at the outdoor market or roam through the little privately owned shops. Go local if you can and support struggling small businesses. Get to know the owners and learn their story.
I remember growing up in Germany and on Saturdays my mom and I would take off for the bakery or for the little shops around where we lived. I’ll always have a tender spot for Saturdays and cream puffs. As a teenager we always ate in little restaurants and would pop in and out of the shops-sometimes just exploring what was new and plotting what to save our babysitting money to buy. I still love browsing through the small shops as if walking in a museum, enjoying creations…that I can pick up!
My walking always leads me to thinking about where I am going, or where I am leaving. Frequently I find myself discussing this with The Divine and apologizing for mistakes and seeking forgiveness. I pray for help and wisdom to transition from one season to another.
So often we look back on our life and list our regrets. We can reflect on our years of living and be flooded with positive, or negative memories. As I walked through the neighborhood near the apartments where I live, I saw beautiful grand homes. It made me sad to think of what I had “lost” for various reasons, including some bad financial decisions I made. I no longer own a house as a result of my choices and trusting some people whom I should not have. I have said for years that I “lost” everything in those unstable times. I used to think I was such a loser and I lived with shame and embarrassment and a sense that I had squandered what God had provided.
I want to reframe that story and to now simply say: “I no longer have those things. They were season in my life that came to an end.” I will likely never own a home again, unless something miraculous happens. And that’s OK. I was a little bit of a nomad growing up – moving every two or three years and I think I have continued that pattern for most of my life. Now it’s renting instead of owning, which gives me flexibility. It may not be as economically sound as some of my homeowner friends tell me, but that’s alright. This is the season in which I am living. I am part of a community that includes folks who have made the decision to live like me and it is kind of fun to share our stories of homeowner trappings and relief!
Lean into being healthy by taking care of your heart and soul. Find the process and place where you connect with The Divine and build new life-giving patterns. For me, this summer that has been water. I am blessed to have a pool in our apartment complex and I get to spend a lot of time just soaking in the water, looking up at the clouds and reimagining the stories that they tell. Did you ever do that as a kid? Do it again! Lay down and look at the images of the clouds and let God unfold a new story for you. Never lose that child-like nature that we’ve been given.
Keep seeking replenishment, refreshment, and renewal. Be open to the change and growth that is awaiting.
I encourage you to reframe the way you look at your life and instead of losses and mistakes, maybe we can just look at it as the seasons of our life and be content with that. Seasons bring ends and they bring starts. Seasons are letting go and grabbing onto the unknown.
Hopefully, we can look back and bring joy and peace into past painful times, and know that God has repurposed those times for good. They are just times, but not wasted times. If we look at them as times of growth, and opportunities to expand our world, then we have real life. May it be so for you. May you be free of regrets and “should-haves” and refreshed in a new season of what the Creator has provided for today.
In humble peace.
maggiemarcum 