In Which We Celebrate 4 Years of Blogging

A lot can happen in four years.

Four years ago, my teenage daughters were 12 and eight. I was still struggling to figure out how to function best in my earlier-than-normal post-menopausal life. My mom was taking care of my dad more than he was taking care of her.

And I was just starting out in the world of blogging.

I remember how nervous I was when I sent out that first post to the online world. Would anyone even want to read it? Did I ever imagine I would be here several years later, still writing my weekly pieces and interacting with the lovely people who stop by Waxing Gibbous from time to time?

I don’t really know how to answer that second question. I didn’t think too much into the future, to tell you the truth. And if I had, I never would have predicted what it would look like—for this space or in my real life.

In past years, I always had several posts written and waiting in the “drafts” section for what I felt like was the right time to publish them. I like to work ahead; I always have. And I’m most comfortable writing about topics that I’ve had plenty of time to process.

These last 18 months or so, it’s been different. Due in large part to events in my family’s life, my weekly blog fare has become much more real-time, more therapeutic and more personal (if that is even possible).

Late last year, after reading yet another post that hit some similar notes, my dad offered an observation in his trademark blunt fashion. “You’re getting a lot of mileage out of this thing with Mom,” he said.

He didn’t mean it unkindly; he had just noticed how much I was writing about my mom’s difficult journey (and how it was affecting my life and faith).

He was right. I was. I couldn’t help it.

Still, I questioned whether it was too much, whether people would get bored with this sort of topic and move on to happier ones. Not everyone who frequents this space is part of the Sandwich Generation, trying to support aging parents while taking care of kids at home. I understand that.

But I kept going back to my original hopes for this blog—that sharing my stories would encourage people to think differently about their own lives, and that reading about my struggles would help people know that they are not alone in theirs.

So I kept writing, even when it felt like I was beating a dead horse. (Pardon the cliché. It just seems to fit.)

Lately, after months of what I’ve affectionately dubbed my unexpected midlife identity crisis, the weight has mostly lifted and the words are flowing more easily. Instead of scrambling around on Monday to get a post together for Tuesday morning, I’m starting to work ahead again, to shape ideas that have been simmering on the back burner for a long time into actual post-worthy material.

It’s a wonderful feeling, to be excited about writing again.

But something else is happening too. Paragraphs I’ve strung together in the last few weeks and saved in my “drafts” folder for future use have suddenly become personally relevant as members of my immediate family have encountered some unforeseen challenges in recent days.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the very words I’ve felt compelled to write for the readers of this blog are now speaking to my own heart. It’s yet another example of the truth in my favorite Bible verse, that God Himself goes before us and is with us, that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Deut. 31:8)

As we celebrate four years of Waxing Gibbous, I could take a cue from wedding anniversary traditions and give myself flowers or fruit. But I’d rather share something with my readers because, really, there would be no blog without you.

So I went back through the archives and compiled a list of the posts that have generated the most conversation in the comment section over the years. My heart squeezed several times as I read through them; maybe you will find them encouraging too.

Here are the top five:

5. Hope for the Weary Ones

4. What’s Making My “Heart Squeeze” Today

3. When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed and Inadequate

2. The Road to Real is Paved with Brokenness

1.  It’s Hard to Wait for God to Rescue a Loved One

Thank you, dear readers, for being here—during the past four years and especially today. I’m looking forward to seeing what future hold for all of us.

♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with Let’s Have Coffee, Purposeful Faith, #TellHisStory, Faith on Fire, Faith ‘n Friends and Grace & Truth.