A Year of Never Before’s

Life is short.  And it is getting shorter.  I think about things like this on birthdays, long runs, and sometimes in the middle of Costco.  There is still a lot of stuff that I have not yet done, places I do not know, recipes waiting, adventures yet untouched, stories unwritten, poems floating around my brain, and a big universe out there.

And so, I am attempting “A Year of Never Before’s,” both everyday and enormous adventures not yet on my radar. or that which I have ignored because of a lack of ability or sheer fear of the unknown.  

One of our daughters asked me the other day if while they were growing up I cooked anything other than lasagna or macaroni and cheese.   Already since this summer, I have attempted at least one new recipe a week, some have elicited “wow’s”, and some won’t be gracing our table again.  But supper has become an adventure, and “what’s for supper?” is asked now in anticipation rather than boredom.  I have found the journey through the recipe almost as fun as the final result.  And believe it or not, it is often less time-consuming than last minute processed food.   A couple of weeks ago, I made my first loaves of artisan bread.  Last night I grilled marinated chicken breasts wearing little jackets of apple-smoked bacon and embraced with melted sharp cheddar.  Yum.  Leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  And if I keep this up, I better keep running marathons.

In the same vein of Never Before’s, last month I attended a writing workshop at a folk school tucked away in the North Carolina mountains, spending a few days writing with three deeply Southern and profoundly creative women who encouraged this crazy Northerner in their midst.  I came home refreshed and re-energized, my backpack and brain stuffed with writing ideas, words coming to the surface the entire 13 hour drive home.  That was a first, a totally out-of-my-comfort-zone experience for me, and a surprising delight.

Next month, I delve a little deeper into the Never Before’s.  While I have been hiking for several years, I have never backpacked overnight.  I don’t quite know what to expect, even how to wrap my brain around it, but it fits right into my year-- one weekend night under the stars with hopefully no spiders, rabid coyotes, or a downpour.  This Never Before may become a Never Again, but you never know.

I am again the shy curly-headed little girl who struggled even to go to nursery school.  And now, well, I quake to write these words:  it’s about time to enlarge my borders and push my everydays to encompass what is new to me.  This year, “Never Before” is no longer an excuse, but my challenge.

Let God work His mighty work, equipping me with strength for today and preparing me for that to come.

Stay tuned.

 

For I, the LORD your God,

hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you,

      Fear not,

      I will help you.

              Isaiah 41.13

 

Enlarge the place of your tent,

and let the curtains of your habitations

                 be stretched out;

hold not back,

lengthen your cords

     and strengthen your stakes.

                         Isaiah 54.2