Life at Forty: Full of Joy and Happiness

Life is a journey with God and one another.

It is a journey of faith, hope, and love.

Life is transformed by encounters with another.

Each encounter, good and bad, deeply embraced brings new life.

Life is filled with inner joy and happiness.

Inner joy and happiness expressed by the smile of the inner soul.

Life is not free of obstacles, hills, and mountains.

Obstacles, hills, and mountains are opportunities and challenges not impediments.

Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala ~ May 27, 2017

Life is full of opportunities and challenges.

Opportunities and challenges, faced with a smile and God’s grace, bring joy.

Life is about the transcendent vision to eternal life.

Transcendent vision goes beyond self in bi-directional compassionate accompaniment.

Life is a journey of familial love in community and friendship.

Familial love continuously walks bi-directionally with each other in joys and pains.

Move Together Familia in Villa Nueva, Guatemala ~ May 25, 2017

My life is full of hope and joy because of you and God.

God’s grace and love in you shines forth in my life.

My life has never been so full of spirit and excitement for the future.

Forty is not “over the hill”.

Forty is seeing the glorious light awaiting the top.

Life is not getting older but becoming wiser.

In wisdom, the journey is always something new to embrace

Embrace each new day with a smile as something new.

Sunrise @ Saint Meinrad Archabbey ~ December 1, 2017

Thank you for your compassionate accompaniment over the past 40 years!

The journey is only beginning,

And I hope you will join me for the next decade and beyond

In the amazing and exciting journey God has envisioned.

Take your sails throw them into the wind,

Discover the depths of your simple smile,

Rise from the challenges of life to the mountaintop,

Never stop playing, smiling, and embracing life,

Share life’s joys and pains with one another, especially the true friend on your heart.

The journey is only full of joy and true happiness 

When taken together in God’s love and grace!