SEEKING JOY AND A BRIGHTER FUTURE

As a writer I often struggle to write. Like many who write will tell you it is hard to sit and write on command. This last year has been especially challenging for me as a writer for a variety of reasons.

2020 and 2021 challenges and blessings

This past year my writing has been challenged by my job, an unexpected career change, my infant daughter, a lack of rest, lack of inspiration and increased isolation as a result of the pandemic. I will be honest most days I have struggled just to cope with all the changes and return to some level of normal. What is normal anymore anyways? I barely remember the woman I was 2 years ago. It is funny how just a few choices or circumstances in life, can send you down such a very different and unfamiliar path.

Life has changed and priorities have shifted

When my daughter was born in June 2019 I was almost 38 years old. My husband and I had been married for 15 years and I was just now having my first child. Not the usual way that most couples choose to have their first baby. Adjusting to life as a new mom after all those years with no children would prove to be quite a challenge. Our daughter Jasmine is really a blessing and is one of the happiest children I have ever met. 2020 proved to be a very challenging year for my husband and I, bringing about many unexpected challenges along with our new roles as parents.

Financial and career challenges arose for both of us related to the pandemic. When 2020 started out I had just returned to work 4 months prior from maternity leave. I had planned the maternity leave well and ended up off work with full pay for 8 weeks. I even received a sizable benefit from my hospitalization insurance that helped to pay for a large chunk of our medical bills. Everything seemed to be going well for me career wise at this point. After nearly losing my job in 2019 due to a layoff I felt blessed to be back in a job that was both familiar and unlikely to result in another layoff.

Finally getting back to normal

We had located a daycare that we felt we could afford and trust with our daughter. Everything seemed to be working out great until March 2020. Then talk began of requiring work from home due to Covid-19 and within a week I was moved to remote work. In just a short time my daughters daycare would be forced to close, my sister and sister-in-law would become our only childcare options & my husband would be laid off briefly. I don't need to tell you all how most of this went because so many of you lived through very similar experiences.

Within that one year period between March 2020 and March 2021 my life would change in so many ways. Almost everything I knew would change drastically resulting in a year of very uncertain article posting and inconsistency with my blog. For those of you that have followed me for a while you probably came to expect a more frequent posting schedule which really changed during this time. Writing was my therapy and I would often spend my free time brainstorming and writing an article at least once a week.

Beginning to cope with the many challenges

My husband and I learned a lot during this year about ourselves and our lives. I learned that although I had always thought working from home was what I wanted that it was not good for me. I discovered that the longer I worked from home the more my social anxiety was heightened. I now struggled just to hold a decent conversation with someone and I had anxiety about anticipated social situations that I did not previously have. I realized that the lifestyle I previously thought that I wanted was not for me at all and was quickly turning me into a socially awkward mess. I needed those social interactions and I needed to be challenged to be more social since I am naturally more introverted.

How I am seeking joy in 2021

Joy has been missing in a lot of areas of our lives based on the events of the past year. I have struggled with many challenges and have found myself just trying hard just to keep moving forward. Many of you might be dealing with the same struggles as well. Job loss, financial challenges, career changes, loss of loved ones due to illness, health concerns of your own and even loss of joy in your life. Some of you may even have developed addictions as you struggled to cope with the events of the past year. I want to encourage you today that no matter where you are in your life there is still hope. You can rise above all of these challenges and get your lives back on track. Easier said than done I know but if I can do it I know that you can too.

For those dealing with loss of hope and even addictions

I have a friend who found herself at the lowest point in her life. She was addicted to drugs and alcohol l and had reached a turning point. She realized that without a change she was on a very destructive path. She recognized that at the point she had reached in her addiction if she did not get help soon she would have no future. If this is you my friends you are not alone. may I recommend that you check out her story here at Recovering Women Wealth. Deanna's story can help you to find hope and just like Deanna you can move forward into a brighter future.

Deanna has inspired me with her story of recovery and continues to everyday. Her story hits home with me because I like Deanna have struggled in many areas of my life. I can easily see myself with just a few wrong choices following the same path she once had. We are all more alike than we may want to admit and we all struggle with similar desires. We want to be loved, accepted, happy and fulfilled and we cannot find that fulfillment in relationships, money or success. The fulfilment and joy we desire can only come from seeking forgiveness and recognizing our need for a savior. Deanna and I both believe in the a God that forgives and transforms our lives in a way that we cannot achieve alone.

Keep leaving that legacy that matters

No matter what challenges face you in 2021 just remember that you are not alone. I challenge you to reach out to someone you trust if you are dealing with an addiction, financial stress or hopelessness. You can move forward into a brighter future a day at a time and there will see better days ahead. Keep seeking joy my friends and keep spreading joy as we encounter others everyday. Lets keep paying it forward and touching lives and leaving a legacy that matters this year.