Looking Back on 2008

I started this transforming blog on December 30th 2007. I think it was probably the best thing I have done this whole year! It has truly been a tool that Father has used to build me up and teach me according to His graceful ways. I have all of you to thank who have shared your voice with me this past year and have carried the weight alongside me in tough times. I enjoy and appreciate all of you who have cared about me and shown me great wisdom and encouragement. I am eager to share this coming year with you all as we enter into 2009.

I’ve been hesitant to invest the time to write this blog post, but, I think for my sake it’s necessary. Last year around this time my husband quite his job. Actually it was December 21st 2007. That was the beginning of our financial struggle and probably the beginning of the most stressful time in my marriage. After Jonathan quite his job, as we both agreed to, he began to do some contract work for a guy in California via telecommuting, however, the guy who was paying him for the work did not pay Jonathan on a regular basis and that almost made us go under financially. Luckily, our AMAZING parents helped us out financially that got us through that hard time and prevented a lot of bad that could have happened. I was still a nanny at the time and we still lived in Golden, but there were so many complications that prevented us to move or find my husband another job at the time. Right after the New Year, Jonathan’s Grandmother past away and we drove to Louisiana for the funeral. It was like a family reunion. It was a good experience for me; because I was able to meet Jonathan’s extended relatives and developed a great appreciation for the Deep South. I truly loved that trip and enjoyed learning more about Jonathan’s family. Once we got back, Jonathan started applying for more jobs and started talking to a guy who was developing a business on The Big Island in Hawaii. He was really interested in Jonathan and in April he paid for both Jonathan and I to go to Hawaii and seriously consider the possibility of moving there and working. It was to say the least, extremely exciting thought of this possible opportunity. We stayed with the guy and his wife who was interested in hiring Jonathan for about 5 to 7 days. They were like our tour guides and took us to every part of the Big Island. We went to so many beaches and experienced amazing food! I will never forget that trip. We got back and Jonathan got a call from a company in Durango that he applied to and wanted to interview him and over time became very interested in Jonathan. Then in May, Jonathan got an offer from this company in Durango and he took it. I was a little disappointed about not taking the job in Hawaii, but now I understand that it was such a better idea to move to Durango and be close to family than live in the middle of the ocean away from everyone I know and love. We put our condo up for rent and began to make arrangements to move down to Durango Colorado. Jonathan was going to start his job in May and moved down a month earlier than I did. I had to stay in Golden to finish off the month of work. I then moved to Durango in June and immediately started looking for a place to live because Jonathan did not do this prior to when I moved. I remember sitting at a coffee shop and looking in the paper for places and getting apartment ad numbers to call. I think I looked and called places for like two days and on a Saturday Jonathan just opens the paper, see’s an ad for a place in town and calls and we immediately go over and look at it and talk to the landlord and right then and there we sign the lease. Wow, I wish it would have been that easy for me to find a place. Well, Father really opened the door which I was very excited to start getting a little more settled and our landlord is AMAZING and is now my good friend. A couple of weeks later my parents and Jonathan and I go back up to Golden and get all of our stuff, and move it all down here. Once we got settled and moved in, that is when I started my walking. I walked almost every single day from the middle of June until the end of September. It was weird, but I just became obsessed with walking; it became such a great stress reliever and brought me closer to Father. Through that time, some surprising things started developing and I gained a friend who I met through a blog and we started talking over the phone and we became really close. Around the same time, I lost a friend who I stopped talking to as well. It was a weird time for me, but I was learning how to balance other’s expectations and learning how to use healthy boundaries as well. This friend and I were not particularly close, however, there were some hopeful expectations that things would progress in that direction, but there were too many complications in the mix that made the entire friendship awkward. We now do not talk on a regular basis and I guess things don’t work out the way we imagine them to sometimes. Around the same time my landlord and I started a cleaning business which took off right away and we started gaining some local clients to clean for. It was such a nice job transition for me going from being a nanny for children to a house nanny. That is what I like to call my cleaning business. I care for homes instead of children. It has been such a nice experience and the money is really nice. Father has truly blessed me with these opportunities and is continuing to do so. In November, I went to Texas for my birthday to visit a childhood friend who I have been close to for 20 years. I know I have already written a blog about this, but through some unfortunate circumstance, we are no longer friends. Someday the door may open for us to share a friendship again, but now we are keeping our distance and let me just say it is for the best for right now as Father is leading me in this direction.

So those are the major events that took place this past year, and through it all, I can see Father teaching me, growing me and most importantly through it all, He still loves me. It has been a good part of my journey and the events that occurred will never be forgotten, for everything happens for a reason and hope to someday learn that even if bad events take place, Father is working them out for the good of those who love Him.