You can learn a lot about a woman by the way she stands. As an infant, she rests peacefully or not so peacefully on her back or tum. Before you know it, she’s a toddler walking or running at high speed. If you’re lucky, she’ll pause and glance back at you with a coy grin. The preschool years arrive and you may notice she stands with confidence, just daring Life to throw her a curve ball. Then something happens…

That yellow transporter departs at the end of her street and whisks her away to the mysterious world of primary school.  She’s still standing tall but with close inspection you notice a slight bend, a barely visible slump of the shoulders. The years fly by: college, marriage, career, motherhood….  She’s still standing but there’s a weariness there- a little less bounce and a slight limp to her gait.

Children are released into the world and her career takes a new path with the destination unknown. Seasons of marriage evolve and bring Joy as never before. Her shoulders rise a little with each new adventure. Challenges come. People she loves die. Doctors appointments don’t go exactly as she scripts them in her head. But she’s still standing. It occurs to her that she can do more than merely stand. She can pull herself up tall and encourage her body to take up space. Her body, mind, and spirit can take up every inch of space that God has designed for her.

Yes, you can learn a lot about a woman by the way she stands. She glances back in the mirror with a confident grin- just daring Life to throw her a curve ball. This time she’s taking up all her space and it feels good.

Contentment. It fits around the spirit like a well-worn glove, enveloping the heart and slowing down one’s thoughts. A cup of hot tea, a soft recliner with a good book, the snuggles of canine family members- they all add a layer or two of happiness.   According to Wikipedia, contentment is “a mental or emotional state of satisfaction maybe drawn from being at ease in one’s situation, body and mind.” As 2016 draws to a close and we look fresh in the face of 2017, it is a time of reflection, of letting go, and moving forward. My 2016 was a season of restlessness- a feeling that something was not quite right. There’s something about the fifth decade of life that causes you to peer inside the closet of your heart, and begin to clean it out.   Simplifying, organizing, breathing. When you’re in the middle of this process, the spirit is anxious, wondering what comes next. Will the new season be a canvas of vibrant colors or a dry, grey etching? Here is what I am sure of as this new season called 2017 greets me:

1. I can try something new and it might work out. Or it might not. And it will be okay- I will be okay- either way.
2. Being comfortable in my own skin is a gift. Some of us unwrap it sooner than others, but it is a gift all the same.
3. Being present in the moment with my people takes practice, but it is so worth it.
4. Putting a period at the end of seasons of your life is not necessary; try a comma instead.
5. Being a woman in the fifth decade of life can be freeing, scary, and exciting all at the same time.
6. Dogs are always kinder than people and will never judge you.
7. Some of the greatest lessons come from enduring hard times, and endurance produces beauty.
8. I just don’t care what “they” think anymore- whoever “they” may be.
9. Sometimes it is best to hold words inside and release them later to our Heavenly Father.
10. It’s okay to be afraid, but go ahead and jump anyway.