Five Minute Friday: UNKNOWN

For the first time in a while, I'm linking up with the Five Minute Friday community, writing for five minutes on a given prompt.

This week's word is UNKNOWN.

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There's a thing going around Twitter right now that says,

There's only ONE MONTH left in the decade. 

What have you accomplished?

When I first read this question I thought, OK, what goals did I set for myself and meet? What projects did I embark on and finish? What aspirations did I strive toward and reach? And I realized I didn't have many of those. 

There were a few small things, like writing poems and having a few of them published. That was gratifying.

But the things that stand out in my mind from the past ten years aren't achievements; rather, they're life-altering passages in my and my family's life:

• My mom's illness, cancer diagnosis, and death in 2014.
• The sale of our family farm.
• The loss (and partial restoration) of a significant relationship.
• The death of my uncle this summer.
• My dad's hospitalization this summer and subsequent move to a nursing home last month.

A decade ago these were all unknowns. I could never have predicted even one of those things -- and I wouldn't have wanted to. Now they're in the past, but they aren't completely over and done with. They've had a shaping effect. They've reminded me of what is really important in life: love and relationships. They've reminded me to help when I can and to accept help when it's offered. They've reminded me that in the valley of the shadow -- the valley of the unknown -- God is with us.

I'm not going to list my decade's worth of accomplishments on Twitter. Instead, I'm going to enjoy the people in my life and do the work I'm called to do, recognizing that the coming decade will have many unknowns of its own to be faced and walked through.