Here we have two Loyola Press authors checking in about how they plan to move forward in 2013. First, from Jane Knuth, author of Thrift Store Saints and Thrift Store Graces:
Moving forward on my own is a lot easier than moving forward in a group situation. Still, any movement on my part can trip other people close to me, or even stop their forward progress. So the best way for me to move forward is to let everyone around me know that:
1. I am contemplating a move. How will this affect you?
2. The move will happen sooner or later, but I want it to happen eventually.
3. I would love to share the adventure, but I understand if you are only interested in being a spectator.(Can you tell I’m a middle child?)
And from Karen Beattie, author of Rock-Bottom Blessings:
Lately, I don’t seem to have any sense of where God is in my life. Moving forward, I want to slow down and become more aware of God by practicing the Daily Examen to help me prayerfully reflect on the day and see God’s hand at work.
As I get older, I feel like my body is betraying me, and that I’m losing control over what I look like and how I feel. In 2013 I’m hoping to start taking control by running a few miles three times a week and maybe run a 5k or 10k race.
My family is so busy that we often just throw meals together at the last minute. I’m hoping to plan better, cook more, and be more intentional about what we eat.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Karen, I can relate! Life takes over. And I find I’m trailing along,not always at the helm and just going along surviving the days. It does bother me I’m eating fast food or not as I would like. Seems little time to pray, yet this is what I crave and thrive on. May God be with us on our journeys and guide us as we best as we can!
With Karen’s first sentence, I thought…wow…here it is!
But at a certain age you no longer want to cook family meals (after 47 years of marriage, it loses its charm), your body does not have the capacity to even think about running a 5K or a 10K…walking around the block is heavy exercise! Losing control over what I look like is not an issue…it’s been long lost…a smile is still a wonderful facial lift and that, along with a good moisturizer, is our façade, for better or worse.
I know there are a number of books out there on the 2nd half of life, but I don’t think either of these two authors have reached that plateau yet. Hopefully they’ll write in the same vein once they DO really reach the point in time where planning to cook family meals would be nice but there’s no family left to cook for…where a 5K is thoroughly in the past never to return and is not even a passing thought.
And at that age, they (just as the rest of us are) will still be chasing God, catching God, changing their relationship with God…at our certain age, we learn that “doing” is not our journey’s end, and that “being” is much, much more important.
Good afternoon, first to Jane, I thought those sentiments were of an only child, a people pleaser. I am glad to see those jpre-thoughts are common to many. I am in early retirement and moving forward in several directions and yes ther is resistance from others, who I may be tripping as i venture into volunteering and new classes, including Scripture studies. I have been interested in the examen as a discipline but have yet to incorporate it’s principles. Thanks for the impetus Karen, I just downloaded and printed some of the pdf files and will begin today. It may help with some painful family issues that are currently disrupting my life. Thank you all
Pat, I like your image of “moving forward in several directions.” I feel that way, too, but I never pictured it that way before. And it sure does confuse the people around me.
You might want to read Henri Nouwen. As Michael J. Christensen tells us in the Foreward of Wil Hernandez’ “Henri Nouwen: A Spirituality of Imperfection”, “Systematic reflection on Nouwen’s understanding of the threefold journey of faith reveals that there are many transformative movements within each journey (inward, outward, and upward).”
It reminds me a lot of how children (all of us!!) grow…top down, midline out…and as we’re “topping out”, we’re growing upwards, too. If you’re into math, think of it as a 3-dimensional plot…the X-axis , Y-axis , and Z-axis. As the point moves, each axis reconnoiters, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing, even, at times, remaining the same.
We’re sprouting in all directions!! A step back in one direction is a step forward in another…even a sidestep changes everything else.
We’re pretty wondrous creatures…even more wondrous is that we, as humans made in the image of G-d, ponder these changes, directions, growing edges, and even our awareness of them.
“Life’s a journey” isn’t just a saying.
Thanks Lynne– I am into math and your explanation makes a lot of sense to me.