This (Really. Finally.) Is My First Post. I Guess.

Not bad for my first title, huh?  And super creative, right?? Yeah… I didn’t really think so, either. But it does get the point across, since I’m exactly that apprehensive about being here. Which I’m probably not supposed to share in the first place. Oh well, I’ve never really been good at pretending.

So, while I’m at it, I may as well go ahead and tell you something else I’m probably not supposed to share. This blogging thing?  This whole wide world of shared interests and ideas and words??? Yeah, I really have no idea what I’m doing in this world. I know WHY I’m doing it, thankfully (see About)… I just have no clue what it’s supposed to look like or how to accomplish it. And, to be honest, that’s pretty much been the story of my life. Which, by the way, used to really tick me off. Though recently, it’s only a mild irritation. Most days, anyway.

Because, truthfully… Life really is hard. To actually DO this life is hard. Am I right? Like, trying to live up to arbitrary standards someone else sets for you. Or worse, ones you set for yourself. Like, trying to handle all that comes at you with some semblance of grace or kindness or ability or, at the very least, with your sanity intact. And, oh yeah… what if THAT is compromised to begin with? Ugh. Many of us already have a genetic strike against us in the mental illness department. So, yeah. Life is just really hard most of the time.

But, we plod on along anyway.  Many times using whatever means necessary to get by.  Holding on to this hope or that object or that other habit in order to simply remain upright.  Scanning the horizon for the next answer that will change everything.  Until it doesn’t.  Then… Wash. Rinse. Repeat.  And, slowly, our life story starts to take shape.

But, what if you don’t like the story your life is writing?  What if you’re – like me – sick of living the repeat? Sick of living out a story that looks more like that movie, Groundhog Day. I never even really liked that movie to begin with. Maybe you’re sick of writing some stale or boring or fearfully pathetic tale and desperate to infuse a new plot line? One with some new loves… some new (or old) dreams… some new adventures??? What if you want to laugh until you cry or, better yet, wet your pants. (Now that I’m well into my 40’s, this phrase has taken on a whole new meaning, but I digress…) What if you want to soar or be brave or simply stop the cycle???

Or, maybe you’re just tired of writing your own story and would like to finally enter into THE story you were created for? Because, there is one, you know. And, it was written by The One who also created YOU.  So… what do you say? Feel like living a new story? Because, you see… God is moving me beyond the repetitive, pathetic one I’ve been writing and I’d really love some company. Honestly, I’d simply love to have a hand to hold along the way. Plus, I have this sneaking suspicion we’ll never want to turn back.

But, wait… we do need to turn back. (See, no clue. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.) At least to the start of this post, so I can revisit the “what’s and how-tos” of this whole blogging world. Because – and, I’m just gonna come right out and say it – since I really don’t know what I’m doing, I really can’t tell you what you’ll get. I wish I could. Most days are apt to be like one of those claw games outside your local super center. You know… you pay like twenty bucks (I mean, I wouldn’t but, maybe you would??) for your kid to get nothing most of the time until, that random Tuesday, when they actually grab the ear of that blue bunny they’ve been eyeing for the last six months! Winner! So, yeah… that may be it in a nut shell. Or, maybe I’ll never even come close to a ‘Winner!’ Either way, I’m just gonna trust that The One who led me to this place has it all written out.

For now, what  I can tell you is this… Though the story I share may swing widely between personal struggles, marriage and kids, dogs, what I ate for breakfast on Thursday (Goodness, but I hope I’ll spare you that post!) or, “What flippin’ color should I paint this dang front door?!”… Jesus will always be front and center, drawing us to look His Way and see it all through His Eyes.

Because – and we must always remember this – our true story, the one written just FOR us? Yep, that one can only be found in His Greater Story. Found in Him. Which means… WE must choose to yield our authorship. Without that part, we’re still all up in that repeat cycle of life. Maybe even stuck on spin. Which is very dizzying and who can even handle all that? Eek! Not me…

So, here’s a challenge: Which of you brave souls feels ready to enter into a new story – YOUR True Story, written just for you, by THE Author of Life? Who’s ready to see what life is like beyond the story we’ve been writing for ourselves? To be fair, it may upend us for a while, or… even make us want to run back to that old life we lived on repeat. But, there’s no room for concern, because His is a Beautifully Redemptive and True Love Story, filled with more freedom, adventure, and grace than we can imagine, and guaranteed to have a glorious ending.

I’m in. Are you?