Hello, my lovely friends! How have you been? It's been just about a month and a half since I've posted but it feels like such a long time. The season has finally changed here in the desert and I'm happy about that although I'm not ready for the cold. (I know, my northern friends will scoff at my idea of cold. It's relative, believe me. 😝) Even though the leaves don't turn color much here, the temperature has dropped. The exit of Summer and the arrival of Fall brings a twinge of sadness with it. I should let you all know that I am no longer in a relationship. It ended well, all things considered, and I've been taking the last few months to process everything before I share anything here. You may or may not know this, but this was my first relationship so I've been learning a whole lot from this process. I had no idea that certain feelings and emotions existed and I can say with confidence that I have a greater capacity for empathy now. Thank God for His hidden blessings. I've also been learning lessons about life and myself. As I made my tea the other morning, I had a rush of blog inspiration and just had to write it down. I'm so glad I have something to share with you here again. Eventually, I'd like to be able to write a letter or make an Instagram Reel talking to my younger self but today's post just comes from asking myself what I've learned and what I need to learn going forward. Don't just exist until you're married. Live life to the fullest as who you are right now. You are not a wife lacking a husband when you are single. You are a daughter of God and you must live as such. You'll never get this time back. Use it well. In simple ways, you can keep the house and your room clean. A clean house provides so much more scope for the imagination. Your mind can breathe more clearly. Do your chores promptly so they're out of the way. Spend time with friends and practice virtues in these relationships. Practice skills and hobbies that make you happy. For me, it's watercolor, knitting, photography, and baking. I have many other happy pastimes as well, (such as blogging, obviously,) but these are the ones I'm doing right now. I want to practice them and grow my skills. I've also realized I have so much growing to do as a person. I have so many shortcomings. I should work on myself so I can give the very best version of myself to the right person at the right time. If I'm failing myself and my family now as a daughter, how am I going to make it as a wife? Seek to get real housewife experience. Don't just help with fixing a salad for dinner; plan the menu, take on the whole operation, do the shopping, prep, and cooking. Watch a baby; not just for a couple hours, but the whole afternoon or day. Realize you're going to need help and learn to ask for it kindly, humbly. Listen to your parents' advice and put it into practice. (Guys, I'm mostly telling myself this. I struggle with this a lot. I think I may have to do an entire blog post about this to convince myself.) You'll always have someone higher up to submit to in life whether it be your boss, your husband, your landlord, etc., and ultimately, God. Learn to take advice and obey wise counsel. Increase your devotions. You won't get more time for prayer later, but less. Cover your future in prayer. Just because you don't know what your future holds doesn't mean you can't pray about it. Most importantly, practice surrender to God's Will. It is most important to do this in tiny things. If we just wait for the big things to come along, no matter how resolved we think we are, we are more likely than not going to buckle under stress, pressure, or desire. "Lord, help me desire to desire to do Your Will." Going one step further, we should not only strive to stay in God's Will in a stagnant way, but we should strive to advance in His most holy Will. I don't just want to stay barely on the edge of doing God's Will becoming a legalist, but I should be striving every day to do God's Will more and more with my whole heart. Firstly, God wills that we remain in His grace through the Sacraments but He desires so much more too. God wants us to draw closer to Him having charity for those around us and even closer by uniting our sufferings to those of Our Lord on the Cross. This should be our ultimate desire; to be so advanced in God's Will that we can unite our sufferings to His. This takes practice so like I said, we should practice our resolve in small ways no matter what season of life we're in. The problem is, I haven't been doing all these things. Therefore, I am challenging myself to make changes and practice these things so that I can improve myself and advance in sanctity, God willing. Enjoy your time in this season. Seasons change so quickly and soon this season will be a memory of the past. Make sure it's a fond one. It may not be exactly happy, but if we strive to do our best and advance in God's Will, it will become a fond memory with lessons to look back on. Thank God for your blessings and strive for Heaven in all you do!