It’s been said that some years are about the questions and some years are about the answers.

I’ve been in both.  I think we all have.

And do you remember what it felt like to look back on that uncertainty…that possibility…that unpredictability?  Do you remember what I felt like to be on the other side knowing what you know?  Do you remember that moment in which you realized that you had just finished writing a chapter of your life?  Experienced it.  Lived it.  Created it.

I want you to meet Cynthia.

Cynthia is on the other side.  Cynthia is filled with answers.  Cynthia is writing out her story.

Day by day.  Moment by moment.  Choice by choice.

Cynthia turned 33 this year and I can tell you with utmost certainty that she has lived more in 33 years than many of us will in our entire lives.  And through it all…she has written a story of grace…of patience…and of strength.  Immense and unwavering strength.

She was a dairy farmer…a bad-ass chick who didn’t let anyone or anything get in her way.  Even cancer.  Which she fought like a warrior.  Twice.  She married the love of her life and had two miracle babies that – according to the laws of all she had been through – shouldn’t have been possible.  She has become a powerhouse that negotiates million dollar deals and fights fires in her spare time. Because – for her – it’s always been about other people. She has healed…she has overcome…she has told her story in the best way possible.

Because that’s exactly the thing…and one of the things that I’m also learning the most right now; what others tell us our story should be…means nothing in comparison to what we decide our story will be.

And so we write…and we rewrite…and if we have the guts, we turn our story into something beautiful. Something meaningful. Something bigger than ourselves.

In doing so, we begin to realize that all years are about the questions and all years are about the answers. Because life never stops asking who we want to become and what we want to create. Life never stops asking what matters most and who matters most. Life never stops asking questions.

 And life never stops giving us the answers to move forward. We may not always like the answer…we may not always accept the answer…but one that thing will always remain true; the answer is there for a reason…

The reality is that this story we are living; regardless of the number of chapters…or how much of it was written for you…or how much red ink is scribbled all over each page…

The story is still yours to tell…

And this girl, right here…her life tells the most beautiful story of all…

A love story.

About falling in love with life…with everyone around her…and most importantly…with herself…