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2017 WENDY CORREEN SMITH. Powered by Blogger.

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Sunday Thoughts and Vaca Photos



Good Sunday morning to you! Today Ryan and I are moving my little brother out of my parent's house into his first apartment. He's the baby boy of the family, and this is kind of a big deal for my mom, I'm sure. She'll finally be an "empty nester" which will be a first for her since 1981 when I was born. This is a start of a new season of life for my brother and my mom and I pray that they are both able to cherish and appreciate the feelings and changes that will come along with it. 

This morning I wanted to share a few more photos from our vacation to Charleston + Clearwater. I loved every single part of our trip, and it'd be hard to pick one favorite thing about it. I will say that our time spent on the beach, under the cabana, listening to the waves crash on the beach while we sipped cocktails and read books, was probably the most rejuvenating. One day we decided to make no plans for the entire day, other than to go to our cabana and go with the flow. That day was probably the most "vaca" like. We took naps on the beach and ate nachos with pina coladas at the beach bar. We walked hand in hand and dipped our feet in the water as we took in the heavenly sites. We jumped the waves like little kids, only to go back and dry off in the sun, just to do it all again. 

One of the books I was reading was by Frederick Buechner, The Alphabet of Grace. I was lead to his books when I read some of his work, like:

Listen to your life.
See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. 
In the boredom and pain of it no less than
in the excitement and gladness:
touch, taste, smell your way
to the holy and hidden heart of it 
because in the last analysis all moments
are key moments, 
and life itself is grace. 




xo Wen

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I'm back.



Ryan and I just got home from a sweet vacation several weeks ago. My iphone is full of the memories that I'll cherish forever and I just saved all the photos from my nice camera onto the computer this morning. There has been a part of me yearning to write and share pieces of my life on the blog again. My hold-up has been the uncertainty of where to start. I feel like I can jump in and start over leaving out the last few years of my life, or I can share a small portion of the gap. 

My old blog was mainly business based, but I found great pleasure in sharing tidbits of my personal life, although I felt a certain constraint on what I could share. Now that I have a personal blog I feel a freedom to write about whatever my heart desires. And that feeling of freedom is amazing! I look forward to sharing and reflecting again, and hopefully inspiring my readers. 

I have hundreds of photos from our trip to Charleston and Clearwater. I thought I'd share them all at once, as an Instagram review, but as I debated about where to begin, I've decided I'll share one or a few photos at a time, and then write about whatever comes to mind.



This Instagram photo showing storm clouds over the gulf is only appropriate for my first photo as I get back into blogging again. A storm in my life has changed everything. My entire life was turned upside down and I had to ride the storm out until my rainbow appeared. I was tested and tried, for months I cried day and night, and I was on my knees praying daily. 

My storm was at it's worst when the realization that my world as I knew it was over. I'm not ready to share the details of what brought me to the divorce, only that I stayed in a painful marriage for many years, only for it to finally be ruined by betrayal. I had mastered the art of only sharing my happy moments with the world, all the while I was suffering in what I knew could not last. I hung on as long as I could. The thought of leaving and the idea of divorce was equivalent to failure in my mind, and failure was something I did not know how to handle. I shared a company with my ex-husband, and when the marriage ended, so did my work. After working for many years on our home, I knew I had to move. Within a month, I had to let go of my husband, my work, and my home. I could have stayed in the marriage to save my work and my home, but that option would have been re-signing up for years of pain and heartache. Although the company was built on pure passion and it brought me much happiness, it could have never made up for the empty and painful marriage. 

Sharing this part of my life is difficult, and I'm struggling with even writing about it. The biggest lesson for me is that life is full of happiness and sadness. It is true that going through the darkest of times and the brightest of times can bring us closer to God. With the dark times we are given the opportunity to strengthen our faith and during times of beauty and miracles we can rejoice with gratitude. Life is a balancing act of both and with much reflection I have learned how to trust in God again, during all times. There was a time period when I allowed my relationship with God to fade and I tried my hardest to plan and control my life. It wasn't until I was at the darkest point in my life, down on my knees, that my life turned in a way I could have never expected. 

I look forward to sharing parts of my new life again, and I plan to be real here. Life isn't perfect, and we all have our beautiful times and our hard times. 

xo Wen



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