A Journey That Began Before The First Step.

A few months ago I realized that life is truly a journey and sometimes we are on them without knowing.

According to Webster's Dictionary the definition of a journey is "an act or instance of traveling from one place to another; something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another (the journey from youth to maturity); the journey through time".

When we are born into life. Before we take our first steps our journey has has in many ways already begun. During those infant and childhood stages of life we are "carried" on this journey we call life. We don't make the choices although we see sites, we experience life but in essence our feet have yet to touch ground and we are just "along for the ride". During this time we have no control of the roads we travel, we have no control of many of the things that happen but yet it still IS our journey.

The transition from being carried and taking our first steps happen differently for all of us.

My mom says "I was plunked into life" because of what my biological mothers and fathers choices were. In a lot of ways I was never allowed to be a child, it was a suck it up, get it over with, survive life that made for a rocky young childhood. Neither here no there though the point is that it is different for each of us but one thing holds constant, through no choice of our own when our feet hit the ground we didn't put them there, someone else did.

The defining moment in life is where you go once your feet hit the ground. Dr. Suess wrote a fantastic story called "Oh The Places You'll Go" where it says " You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go. I think this sums it up! We will decide where we go.

Sometimes we are going to stumble and fall, sometimes we are going to go down a dark lonely path, sometimes we are even going to fall and not want to get up BUT life goes on. Life doesn't care if you had a hard childhood, if you were abused, if you didn't receive the life skills to survive -- in my opinion life is uncaring "thing". BUT there is a redeeming constant; Christ does care, he sits beside you in the dark when you can't/won't get up, he holds your hand when you can't/won't go it alone. He is a flashlight in the dark, a cheerleader on the sidelines, a counselor in the chair. "He IS"

So wherever you are on your journey - take a moment - evaluate - look around - DECIDE right now where YOU want to go - "life is too short", and only getting shorter. Travel with one foot in front of the other and know that you don't have to go it alone.

Where I am in life I owe to those who carried me in the beginning. Where I am in life I owe to those who showed me in the beginning. Where I am I owe to my feet, but especially to the LIGHT that shined on my path in the dark. Without Christ I would not BE. (Thank you mama and papa for making sure I learned this, for making sure you reinforced it, for living it daily. Without you I would not be the me I am today. God is my savior and YOU were the ones that brought him into my life and showed me his sweet love, forgiveness and constancy.)

This much I know for sure....

Prayer Request

Last year at this time my dad passed away of a stroke. We miss him very much and our family is struggling with the grief of the one year anniversary of his death.

My dad was one of the most loving, caring people in the world. He went out of his way to make the world a better place. He cared for others more than himself. He gave without want of any return. My dad was my hero and I miss him terribly. I am so blessed that he and my mom "chose me - I'm adopted".

There are days that I want to pick up the phone to share with him. There are days I want his guidance. There are days I wish I could hold his hand one more time, or ask him one more question. There are days.... and I know that this month will be hard.

Please pray for our family as we struggle with lingering grief and remember him (I know he would want us to do this with a smile, and to live our lives in the best light like he showed us to) He was a man of God and I just pray that as his daughter I live as a "woman of God".

Thank you for reading this and taking a moment to pray for us...

In Christ,
Aimee Neu