Good Life

Sometimes I allow myself to wallow in self-pity, that my life isn't what I dreamt it would be. I dreamt I would go to the Peace Corps, have an international career, and make a difference. My life is not as big as I imagined. But as I was reviewing my website last night, I was struck by what a blessed life I have had. So maybe I'm not a big, influential career woman, but my life has been pretty charmed. I've gotten to start a fine art photography career and won 2 awards right after starting, and was accepted into a prestigious art fair and wait listed for other prestigious art fairs, all within 2 years of starting to show at art fairs. Although I'm not busy on a daily basis with it, and although I sometimes feel lost in how else to continue, I have been successful and this is just the start. I see that my impatience is tempting me to throw in the towel, but last night I was struck with how incredibly blessed I am to do what I love and to have had success in such a short time. I haven't encountered too many other photographers on the circuit as short a time as I have been.

Little Things

Today I am thankful for the little things. I've enjoyed seeing how my sister-in-law defines family, and it's a place where you feel connected and can count on each other. I look up to her in that respect, and have tried to model my actions to my family the same.

My dad called the other night just to let off some steam about something he was worried about. He normally doesn't do this, and I was happy that he felt he could call and let me know he was stressed. Same with my brother. He called this morning needing to talk about a stress of his, and I'm glad they feel they can call me. It may sound small to a lot of people, but in my family this is a good thing, and tells me we're on the right track.

There are days where I feel somewhat purposeless, and then God reminds me that He protected me and my spirit while growing up, and that there is a reason that He kept me protected.