Today is my mom’s birthday—she would’ve been 77. She passed away in 2003, just nine days shy of her 60th, leaving a void that still aches. I miss her laugh, the way she’d savor a Hershey bar with almonds, a cigarette, and a Coke, always finding joy in the small things.
Today, my nephew is getting married in Pennsylvania, a state I visited often with my parents as a child but found true freedom in during a 17-day solo road trio in 2015. Driving through the windswept Outer Banks of North Carolina, along Delaware’s quiet shores, and across Pennsylvania’s rolling hills back to Indiana, I felt God’s presence in the open road. Each mile taught me to embrace life’s shifts, trusting His plan to guide me through uncertainty.
Yesterday, I learned my great aunt passed away yesterday at nearly 102, her resilience a quiet lesson. Since turning 41 in 2013, when a bicycle ride down a Fuguki tree path in Okinawa, Japan, woke me up to His plan, I’ve realized nothing stays the same. Change is inevitable—people are born, die, marry, part ways. Friends you thought were forever fade, while others appear like divine gifts, steady and true. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore. God’s plan unfolds in every transition, from a wedding’s joy to a sunset in my Indiana garden, where my two cats frolic in the catnip as I tend to the tomatoes and peppers.
Life’s a wild, beautiful journey. I treasure this childhood photo of my mom, a little girl holding a gun in one hand and a duck her dad hunted, smiling wide. She’s probably in heaven now, laughing. She had the best laugh. I’m learning to trust God’s timing, whether on a road trip or at home sifting through old photos.
What changes have shaped your life lately? Share in the comments–I’d love to hear your story.
Blessings,
Stacey ~ iamalive