Sunday, June 26, 2011

Once upon a time...

The really good stories that peole continue to tell today begin with "Once upon a time..." and end with "...and they lived happily ever after."  The stories have princesses and princes, dragons, elves, fairies, magic, good vs. evil...and good always prevails.  Even today, look at the huge success of Harry Potter.  This story...my story...has all of that, too.  But the dragons I have slayed are things like:  being a divorced single parent who is scared and lonely, working a 40 hour a week job that's saving grace is flexiable schedule and good benefits, going to the grocery store knowing that there's not enough money in my checking account, running late and driving in traffic, struggling with self esteem with all the cute and perkey and perfect cheerleader moms, living pay check to pay check, having made choices I would rather forget and spending my life searching for the Divine connection, God.  There is magic in this story.  The magic is my deep faith in God and that through all the dragon slaying, I'm still here today.  This story I am going to share with you is about balancing the real world with the spiritual world. 

I've read lots of books about spirituality, fiction and non fiction.   I just knew all those people writing books had the answers I was searching for in my journey.  I have a confession though; I haven't finished as many as I have began. There's a pile on and below my bedside table, there's a book in my purse, there's a book on hold for me at Barnes & Noble, there are books on my book shelves upstairs and downstairs.  I have read other people's stories.  Is this deep desire of wanting to tell my story my midlife crisis?  My oldest daughter going away to college and my life changing?   I'm sure all of that has something to do with it, but my desire to share my story is also about hopefully helping people who are on a similar path whether they are at the beginning or the middle or the end.  My desire is that my daughters not experience what I have experienced and hopefully my story will help them on their journey. 

Enter through the door and gather around as I begin to tell you a story, "Once upon a time... "