A New Direction

Life is full of surprises! And the beauty of it is if you just let it be it can take you in any direction. That's not to say you should let go of hopes and dreams, but I do mean letting go of expectations.  Expectations almost always lead to disappointment, but hopes and dreams put a smile on my face and a sense of wonder in my world. Hopes and dreams are what propel me forward every day. Without them I know I am headed in the wrong direction. When you let go of expectation, life, being as it is, may just surprise you in a way you never imagined. If I looked at my life through the lens of expectation it would look something like this: "I'm surprised my life didn't turn out like I thought it would. I'm not a mother." (News Flash: No one's life turns out like they thought it would even if they have all the things: people, family, money, job, car, home, or health they dreamed of. It took lots of talk therapy for me to realize that.) I prefer to look at it hopefully which sounds more like this "Life didn't exactly turn out as I had planned, but since I don't have a child look at how much opportunity I have." For me, it's opportunity to grow, share, love, help, and serve. If I may not be the one thing I always thought I would, how can I be useful in the world?

Motherhood, to this day, has eluded me for reasons I understand, but will never really know. I've never celebrated a mother's day as a mother although I've celebrated motherhood for others every year. This year, I wanted to do something different. I wanted to channel my hopes and dreams in a new direction. So, on Mother's Day, I did.

Meet Nice-mery!

How can you not love a 5 year old named Nice-mery? Nice-mery lives in Tanzania with her three siblings and her mother and father, who, no doubt, love her very much. I'm certain her parents have hopes and dreams for her, but are unable to see them to fulfillment because of extreme poverty. That's where we come in. By sponsoring her and getting to know her through photos and letters we can help her parents see their dreams for her come true. I am very excited to have Nice-mery as part of our "family" even though she lives tens of thousand of miles away in a country I've never seen. Since choosing Nice-mery last month (we CHOSE her!), I have read two books memoirs where the author has written about their wonderful experience with children sponsored through the same organization. See? Life will direct you to unexpected places (and books!) if you let it. I may never hear someone call me "mama" but I now will be able to spread hope, help to fulfill dreams, and nurture a little soul somewhere in this world. I pray Nice-mery grows up to realize her hopes and dreams. I can hardly wait to get to know her!

XOXO