...2nd star to the right...

I've been revisiting "Mitford"...
it's probably been 4 years
since my last, and first, visit...
and it is better than I remember...

perhaps, it is because I am different now...
since I'm not the same person now
that I was 3 months ago...
I've really changed in 4 years...

4 years ago, I hadn't retired yet...
I was angry, bitter, disappointed and exhausted...
my mom was packing up the ranch and NOT happy...
my students and administrators were driving me crazy...
I was at my wit's end....

then I discovered the "Mitford" series by Jan Karon...
it was a hide-away in the midst of strife...
being "there" often sent tears running down my cheeks...
but lifted and filled my heart with the goodness of God...
even in a fictional place, with made-up people...

I finished the books I had ...
and waited for the last one to be published...
but, somehow, I got bogged down in the "last" book...
I don't think I wanted it to end, so I just never finished it...

as I have been undergoing an amazing transformation
during the last 3 months or so...
many of my former pastimes
have faded away...

I find myself listening to more music...
watching much less TV...
although I am watching DVD's more...
my car radio is not on very often...

and I have been reading again...
this can be problematical...
since I have a "floater", obstructing my vision, in my right eye...
and am pretty much "blind" in my left...

I suppose that I'm learning patience...
waiting for the floater to "clear"...
and my eyes to focus...
it does give me a chance to ponder what I've read...

I've always been a fast reader...
skimming along...
getting the general idea...
but missing some details....

re-reading Mitford, much more reflectively...
has been a real blessing...
so much of it is speaking to me...
in a very personal way...
that it didn't 4 years ago....

as I continue to seek God's will in my life...
joyfully...no matter what...
it helps to feel the connection to others,
who also believe...
even if they are fictional...