“Find the Joy through the Journey”

When I look back at my life, I am so immensely blessed and thankful.  When others look at my life, they seem to tilt their head a bit and say, “I had no idea all that happened to you…wow…I’m so sorry…but you look great.”  All logical comments.  As a child, I learned that perspective was vitally important. I saw obstacles as challenges even then. My parents were big on serving others in the community. The people from my little church were there when people needed them, we sang songs of joy, and we laughed a lot. Growing up in a town with one red light allowed me to have genuine friends, no curfew except to simply go home to bed when it was dark, and when my parents asked us to do something, we obeyed.  Simple. Joyful. Thankful.

There were heartaches in my childhood, but when I went to college and became a theatre major, I found a path of passion and fulfillment. Undergrad into my first jobs then onto grad school, a break from theatre to be a resort conference coordinator, more theatre work and I land in NYC working on Broadway as a receptionist.  Dreams quickly come true.  Relationships and connections all over the country led me to Ohio where I eventually became the Tour General Manager for one of the biggest entertainers in the world. Dreams are still coming true.  We started a family, had an amazing church, loved being in Cleveland and biggest dream ever – Executive Producing Veggie Tales Live. And then I remembered that I forgot to get a mammogram. Time to check it off my To-Do list. And my world stopped. Cancer. Clinical trial. Followed by an autism diagnosis for my four-year-old son. Then my brother goes to war. Our new house is being built. And my dad has a heart attack and stroke. All within nine months. That’s a lot, even for someone with my perspective and my absolute faith in God.

So, what’s the logical thing to do? Of course, I called a friend and decided to do a musical about it… a musical that is funny and heartbreaking, and joyful and emotional. And in that musical emerges a song called QUEEN OF THE TRIAL.  A song that is part of a moment of triumph right before another storm crashes and then another moment of joy is experienced.   And that embodies the journey I have been on for decades. Life doesn’t seem to stop because something unexpected and heartbreaking happens. Smiles and laughter still come from unique places. Trials are real. Navigating them well like a queen would is possible. And just when things start to level out, and seem to be on an uphill trajectory, it’s time to be the Queen of the Trial again… cancer, parents passing, and a heart attack … just to name a few and see if my perspective is still intact.

I made changes in my diet, started exercising, removed work related projects that seemed to produce stress … and as I was awakened at 1am one night, I was asking God, “What is going on?  What am I supposed to do?”  And that still voice inside said, “Tell Your Story…Tell Your Story…Tell your Story” 

So here I am, ready to share my story in different formats, asking friends and colleagues to join me along the way and also share their stories. As we share the joy and truth along the way, I hope you are encouraged and can find a little laughter and heartfelt care, knowing that others are navigating crap storms and trials as well. I look forward to our journey together.