2023 - A Year in Review

And just like that the year has come to a close. My blog has been neglected as this is the first post I’ve made since May. My life got really busy…but more on that later. As I like to do, I want to recap the year that was 2023. The best part of this year was that I didn’t spend one single day in the hospital or rehab - a first for me since 2018. There has been a lot going on this year, as many of you may know, but I’m going to group my events in bigger sections since much of my year was spent on one ginormous dream becoming a reality.

I finished my outpatient physical therapy in July, although I was hesitant for it to end. With encouragement from my physical therapist, I realized it was time to move on from my twice weekly sessions. I had met all my goals and after being in PT for 10 months, I needed to launch. I, of course, had a lot more goals to achieve, although they were somewhat lofty and perhaps unachievable goals. I have a hard time typing “unachievable” much less admitting it, but tis true. I had assumed I would progress to crutches, then to one crutch, and eventually be very mobile. Unfortunately that’s not the case. Could it happen? Well, anything can happen. But in reality, the fact that I’m walking at all is a miracle in the eyes of my PTs. On the last day of my rehab, my therapist said, “You know, if you line up all the PTs that worked with you here in rehab (and I was there a lot), no one would have ever thought you would walk again.” I’m sure glad nobody told me that when I was reaching for the stars. It was recommended I go through the motions to get a power chair to allow me the freedom to be independent again. I balked at first, thinking just a bit more rehab and I’d not need my walker. After my PT was very up front with me, I conceded. She explained that getting to the level of independence I envisioned could take a very long time, if I ever got there at all. Plus with my rheumatoid arthritis, the wear and tear on my joints pushing that hard might not be good in the long run. I was glad I conceded.

In August, I began the process of getting approval from insurance for my power chair, and within two weeks I had approval! I received my chair just a few days after approval. It’s beautiful! He’s red and shiny and I named him Lightning McQueen. I use him around the house sparingly as I try to walk or use my manual chair at home to get additional exercise. After bumping into walls and doors (which I still do), I was ready to take her outside the house. I had qualified for our local para-transit (TARC3) and began the process of planning out trips so I could go wherever I wanted all by myself. It was GLORIOUS!!! I could go to doctor’s appointments independently, to church, to the coffee shop, and even to TARGET! My first solo trip shopping was to Target just a few days before Christmas (I know, probably not the best time), but I had the best time! I planned my trip and what I needed and then toured all over the store. The last time I was in a Target there were no groceries (just a few items, but no produce or frozen foods), no Ulta, No CVS. This was a whole new ballgame! And, I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks and watch the people as they passed me by. That feeling was something I’ll not soon forget. Though I still have people take me places in my manual wheelchair, it’s good to know I have the freedom to go places and don’t have to continually be searching for someone who can take me places. Though I’m not where I thought I would be, I am living life and loving it.

Around the first of April, I was asked to help our Communications Pastor with our church’s social media. Nothing thrills me more than serving at my church. I jumped in with all fours (well, all threes for me). It’s been a great year helping to post and promote our church’s activities and one of my favorites of the year was reporting on the mission trips. Each day when one of our teams were out across the globe serving, I would post pictures and ways to pray for the team. There was something about posting those pictures daily that made me more involved with the mission team and more apt to pray daily. During the summer after my physical therapy ended, I began going to the church office each Wednesday afternoon and working with our Communications and Discipleship Pastor. It’s been great to help him and others in the office who might need ministry assistance. This is all volunteer, but I love it just the same.

I was privileged to be asked to serve on our Building Team at my church. We’re exploring the possibility of expanding our church. We’re out of room everywhere, and as a team, we’re putting together a proposal to bring to the church in early 2024 of a plan on how we can expand and make more room. Our work began the beginning of June and it has been hard but good. I was asked to be the secretary to take the minutes “because Rose is the writer of the group.” Whew, remind me to decline that in the future. No, seriously, that has been a blessing but a lot to keep up with as our discussions can get quite lively. I’ve tried to make the minutes of each meeting worth reading.

One of my passions is discipleship and I often wondered if I’d ever disciple young girls and women again. Fall 2022 brought me back as a co-leader of one of our Wednesday Night Discipleship Groups and I’m blessed to still be co-leading a group and loving it. But, my passion of one-to-one discipleship came alive again in 2023. I’ve been able to disciple three girls, all in different stages of life. They are so special to me and I love seeing how God is working in each of their lives. I’ve also been privileged to shadow one of our church’s biblical counselors and have learned so much from him. Our current counseling sessions are coming to an end the first week of 2024 and I’m hoping to get back into studying for my biblical counseling certification since it took a back burner in 2023.

If I didn’t already have enough to do, I agreed to do some limited freelance work for a very new startup company, Enhancio. I can only devote 3-5 hours a week, but it’s been good to get my head back into the technology game again. I’m working with some new people and some I’ve worked with before. The adrenaline rush of entrepreneurship is invigorating.

Many things took a back burner in 2023 when I partnered with Punchline Publishers in May to publish my book, Dancing in the Valley. I hadn’t received any bites from traditional publishers - no shock there - and had encountered a publisher who was interested, but I was skeptical. I had Joy Eggerichs Reed, the leader of my writing cohort, review the proposal and she pointed out her red flags and I agreed. She told me if I was interested in going this hybrid publishing route, Punchline Publishers had a package that might interest me. She sent over the information and I was sold. First off, I trusted Joy and her team member, Amelia, immensely. Second, they already knew my work and this book specifically. And, third, I could be spending the rest of my life finding a traditional publisher and end up having to self-publish with zero direction.

We had our launch meeting in May and decided we would launch my book on December 1. December was the anniversary of my amputation. My two-year “ampiversary” is today, December 31, 2023. I was scared but up for the challenge. That would be the day before our church’s Women’s Gift Exchange so I knew the week leading up to that weekend would be crazy busy, and now I was launching my first book the day before. With a launch day in place, Joy created a timeline that outlined everything I’d need to do and when. Listen, this is a first-time author’s dream. I had no clue all that had to be done. While Punchline did some things, I did the rest and just followed the timeline like I was playing Candy Land.

The rest of my summer was spent editing, writing, editing, writing, editing, writing (you get the idea.) Quite honestly, editing might be my favorite. I love reading and re-doing and then reading comments from my editor and re-doing again. It feels like a sculptor working on a masterpiece and honing out the details of the finished project. After much editing, I worked on the external design with cover art and found a designer for the book and typesetting. The cover art is by my adopted nephew, C.W. Roederer. When I was asked by Punchline to find book covers I liked to show a designer, I came up flat. I had two that meant something to me - the art piece of Mary and Eve. Victorian in style, I loved that it told the story of the gospel with just these two women. The other picture was one that Clayton (C.W.) had drawn depicting Easter and the gospel. I knew he was the one for my cover art and the rest is history. My book designer was hard to find as those Punchline recommended weren’t available, but Asya Blue was a gift from God and I’m so glad I found her.

Over the months leading up to my book launch I appeared on multiple podcasts and did what I could to market my little book that could. There were some publishing snafus (still are some), but December 1 my book was live and in the world! It still feels very surreal that my book, with all my transparency and vulnerability, is sold across the globe. I had a launch and signing party on December 16 and a full album of the day can be viewed here. When you read my book, these pictures will mean more to you as many of those in my story were there to share in my day. It was magical, and a day I will cherish forever. People are just now reading my book and reporting in to me. I’m quite blown away. It apparently is a binge read - trust me, it wasn’t a binge write. And people who didn’t know my story were just as captivated as people who did know most of the details. I prayed that this book would encourage the hearts and faith of those who read it. If just one person came to follow Jesus because of it, my mission was accomplished. I’m not sure what God is going to do in the future with this book or with future books I write, but let me say whole heartedly - I am here for it.

Whether or not your 2023 was full of smiles or tears, I pray you can reflect back and see God’s Hand in it somehow. I never dreamed I’d ever have a year like this one when I was on my health journey. I was ready to meet Jesus and tap out. He wasn’t ready for me to come yet. Now I can say I am thankful He wasn’t. Soli deo Gloria.