The dangers of blogging

Well, as a new blogger, I've learned a few things about the dangers of blogging.

One, if you blog consistently and then don't blog for awhile, then people freak out and wonder if you're okay. :) I'm flattered by the concern and yes, I'm fine. Dave and I traveled to Wisconsin this past weekend for our friends' Pete & Michelle's wedding so we were away from wireless all weekend (sort of a nice change) and Dave's parents are here visiting this week so the time I usually use to blog, we have been spending with them. But yes, things are going well and I continue to improve. The scar tissue seems to be the big culprit right now. It is quite hard below the skin surface and is the source of most of my discomfort right now. Apparently it will break up and break down as time progresses. I keep rubbing it a bit, massaging it if you will, and hopefully that, even though it is uncomfortable, will help too. Other than that, I've had some inflammation in the abdomen, but that's pretty much to be expected we think.

The other danger of blogging, is that people misinterpret and "read into" what you say. I should have known that this was a danger in going "public" with my thoughts, experiences and reflections, but I guess I wasn't prepared for it as much as I should have been. Some emails I've gotten recently have made me take a step back to think more about what I'm posting. I find myself second-guessing everything that I think I would like to write about, and I'm not sure that that is a good thing. I'm sure I'll get back in the saddle again soon.

This blog has been so helpful to me, as Dave and I process the entire journey we've been on and where we are now, and I'm sure it will be helpful as we continue into the future. From the many incredible emails I've gotten from so many of you reading, I know that in it's own way, it has blessed each of you too. I am so grateful.

May we each welcome the spiritual gain that comes from our own suffering and from the good in our own lives, and realize that they are not necessarily some "exercise" God gives to test us or make us learn a lesson, but rather each moment of sickness or health, wealth or poverty, good time or bad, is an opportunity to surrender to His divine will for us, and to draw closer to His most Sacred Heart. If we are looking to measure or qualify or evaluate them as successes or failures we are missing the point...even more so if we attempt to evaluate the success of some else's spiritual progress. Our life is a journey, a continual love story between God and us, his children. Only in the deepest recesses of our heart, and through prayer and contemplation can we glean what God may wish for us to learn from each experience in our lives. Only as we personally grow in wisdom, can we see with God's eyes, and know how an experience is forming or de-forming us personally and drawing us closer or further away from God. It is a private encounter for us, and part of our own personal journey as we continue to grow in love for Love himself. May each moment of our lives draw us ever closer to His most Sacred Heart.

Christian revelation...speaks of a fulfillment which man is called to achieve in the course of a single earthly existence. Man achieves this fulfillment of his destiny through a sincere gift of self, a gift which is made possible only through his encounter with God. It is in God that man finds full self-realization: this is the truth revealed by Christ.

~ Pope John Paul II, Tertio Millenio Adveniente

~ ~ ~

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
~James 1:2-6