I is for Introvert

 

So.. I am still in the process of figuring all of this blog stuff out and I hope you all will bear with me over these next few weeks and months. I feel as if I have years’ worth of stories and experiences to share, but I am struggling on where to begin. How do I begin to share twenty four years of God's works and wonders in my life - of all the ups and downs along the way that led to where I am today?

You must know that I am a writer at heart. Even when it was still "uncool" and I pretended that I hated writing, I still secretly kept a journal. It has always been my time to self-reflect, to unwind, to learn and to grow. Recently I attended a personality conference at work that one of our patient's mothers was so kind to provide for us. And there I made a huge realization about myself, one that I have denied for a long time. The realization that I am an Introvert. There I said it. An Introvert. And that doesn’t mean that I’m shy or dislike people. As a matter of fact, I love people and am thankful every day for a career that allows me one-on-one interactions with people and the opportunity to have a small place in their lives. Being an Introvert means that I get my energy from time spent alone in self-reflection, whereas an Extrovert can pull energy from being in a crowd. Being an Introvert means that I would rather spend time getting to you one-on-one rather than meeting and greeting you along with fifty other people at a party. 

So all that to say, I will be spending a lot of time writing here. It is my personality to write, to self-reflect. It is how God made me. And I will share here for several different reasons. First of all, I feel that God has led me through experiences and circumstances in my life so that I can share what I have learned with others. And maybe, just maybe, I can use these experiences to encourage others. Even if I never know it. I will also share stories and lessons from the here and now, the today, so that Andrew and I will be able to look back and remember the early days of our marriage. And how God is working in our lives. 

I write also to become part of an awesome community – a community where others come together to share life experiences and to learn from each other. I have been an invisible blog reader for many years, and there were so many times that I would sit at my computer with tears in my eyes and wonder how a stranger could have possibly known just what I needed to hear. I received so much encouragement through years of being away at college, through grad school, broken hearts and lonely days. 

And now it’s my turn to give back.

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11

And a few pictures of our sweet family, just for fun.