I have lived my life with and without Jesus Christ; “with” is infinitely better.  Despite the loss of my first family, God has richly blessed me with a wonderful and loving husband, two beautiful and talented daughters who married Godly men, and given us five incredible grandchildren.  My life is filled with love…of family, friends, and faith, a faith that keeps evolving and growing to meet the everchanging challenges of this world.

This season of life, almost eight decades,  brings me to a place of More or Less…More patience with others; more desire to understand myself and my relationship with God; certainly less concern with what others think of me, less rigidity in my beliefs and more love for my brothers and sisters in Christ; most definitely less judgment and a greater desire to know less about God and know more of God.  I believe there is a difference.

I  always liked to be in charge…of myself, sometimes others (if I’m honest), of my life.  I am reminded repeatedly that I’m not.  I am more trusting and less controlling, but I can quickly default if I’m not careful. It’s bittersweet to realize that I am not in control of anything or anyone except myself (and even that’s iffy at times). More humility, less arrogance

For years I used to jokingly tell people that I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. But the experiences God allowed me have caused me to figure it out. God has called me to “…comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God,” (2 Corinthians 1:4). For the past 20 years, I have been doing my grown-up work.  In His infinite wisdom, God added a sense of humor to my gift mix, which is a blessing because we all need to laugh every day, sometimes even if it’s just at ourselves.  For instance, I had to laugh when I realized the WWJD bracelets didn’t mean What Would Janet Do.  See, didn’t that feel good.

I love to share the lessons God has taught me in the hopes that it will be meaningful in the lives of others, whether that’s in person, on line, a chance meeting, a conversation or a formal event. It’s how I share my faith…more or less.