I graduated!

It’s a beautiful thing – moving forward during life’s journey. No matter how winding the path, the distance, difficulty or ease of finding our way through challenges and hopes, graduating – commencing forth from one reality to another – is always a little awe-inspiring. A whirlwind of raucous celebratory events marking our newest passage may not always happen, but that doesn’t make our progress into new life chapters any less valuable. Seasons turn, winds of change blow and the cycles of our lives ebb and flow . . . and within these inevitable movements, we, each one of us, continue to graduate forward. It’s a good thing!

I just completed my second nonfiction book about welcoming Grace into our lives. It was a Tuesday evening, close to 8:00, when my exhausted commencement happened. I put the last period on the last sentence of a book I’ve poured almost three years of my life into crafting. Yep – I graduated. Still, maybe like yours when you’ve put yourself in a new life space, my commencement holds both a bit of awe and a lot of wonder. I’m in between now. Besides celebrating quietly for a time and breathing deeply . . . what’s next?

In my first book, Letters for Grace, I wrote the following lines. I reread them just lately and find they are what I need to remember now as I not only look back to honor an ending but also step forward into my newest unknown.

“Don’t be afraid of the space in between what has been and what can be. Simply spend a quiet moment to wrap and warm yourself within your own arms . . . then step forward. There’s a door just ahead, opening into the light of a new time.”

I wish you all many happy, open doorways ahead. Let the commencements begin!

Jane