Journey's End (or Not)

It's been over a year since I posted here. A lot has happened. I've been to Ireland three times.  As if I were not confused enough about where to call home or what's coming next. It's all good. No, actually it's all truly amazing...this one magnificent life God has gifted to each of us. Insert metaphor here. There are so many that apply to life.  You come up with your's.

I have decided to make this the last post of the Better Than Laughter blog. I set out to understand King Solomon's meaning, "Sorrow is better than laughter because a sad face is good for the heart" from the book of Ecclesiastes. It's been over eight years since Greg died and this blog has spanned six of them. I didn't really write much, considering all that time... 106 posts but most were written the first couple of years, while in Alaska. I can't say that I understand old Solomon any more today than I did then. I still prefer laughter to sorrow, but I have to admit that grief, as a fuel powering the soul in search of God, can take you to speeds that would make Einstein take notice. Not a pleasant drive, but you arrive at a new place with a renewed sense of wonder and understanding.

Maybe the point is... you don't have to choose between laughter and sorrow. Faith can take one end of each and tie them into an elegant bow that is strong enough to hold you together during your worst days.  There is no meaning to anything without contrast, right? Light and darkness create an exquisite twilight that is both calming and reassuring.

I want to thank each one of you who supported me on my journey by reading my words. I opened my heart to you and you treated it with the most tender care and respect. I tried to make it about all of us because Solomon also said, "There is nothing new under the sun."  I know that my feelings were also your feelings even if our circumstances were different. I hope Solomon had friends (which I doubt because he was such a downer) who cared enough to read his stuff and were there for him in his time of need (which may have been his whole life). I have been enormously blessed by you.

I intend to keep writing because I find it so very soothing, like a long exhale after holding my breath. I'm leaving tomorrow to spend the whole summer in Ireland. It's ridiculous how much I love it there. There's a connection that's hard to explain but I'll be exploring it. And I'll be journaling my thoughts and impressions of the place and the people as well as describing some interesting sites I discovered this past year.

I invite you to once again climb aboard my precarious life raft and voyage with me on another fine adventure. Meet me at Dearestireland.blogspot.com. Don't be late! The tide is changing!