Living My Best Life, Even in the Middle of It All

Lately, I have found myself saying something that once felt impossible to believe: I am living my best life.

Not because everything is easy. Not because there are no challenges. And certainly not because life has unfolded exactly as I once imagined. I am living my best life because I have never been more at peace.

That peace greets me every morning in the simplest of ways. There is a small sticky note on my bathroom mirror that reads:

I say these words every single time I wash my hands. What started as a reminder has become a prayer. A quiet act of surrender. A daily return to trust.

Recently, I watched the Hallmark movie A Melbourne Match, and one line stopped me in my tracks:

“Life is a journey without a map. Sometimes we get lost on a path we didn’t choose, but we still have to keep moving forward.”

That quote stayed with me long after the movie ended because it named something I have lived. For a long time, I believed life was something I could plan carefully, chart clearly, and control if I tried hard enough. But real life does not come with a map. There have been moments when I found myself on roads I never intended to travel, carrying losses, disappointments, and health challenges that were not part of my original vision.

And yet, I am still moving forward.

Moving forward does not always look like confidence or certainty. Sometimes it looks like getting up, saying a prayer at the sink, and trusting God enough to take the next small step. Sometimes it looks like grieving what was, while remaining open to what is still becoming.

Moving to Fargo was one of those forward steps that required trust rather than certainty. I did not have every answer or a perfectly drawn plan, but I listened closely and followed where I felt God was leading. That move placed me in work that truly fits my gifts as a Communications Specialist and has allowed me to grow professionally in ways I never could have predicted.

Alongside that work, I am pursuing a second master’s degree, not from a place of deficiency, but from a desire to keep becoming. Learning continues to stretch me, sharpen my thinking, and invite me into deeper reflection. I am also writing children’s books that emerge from prayer, imagination, and love, stories meant to offer comfort, wonder, and faith to young hearts. Creativity has become sacred space for me, where healing and hope quietly meet.

All of this growth is happening on many levels at once. I am growing spiritually, mentally, and emotionally, even as I navigate personal health challenges and walk beside people I love through their own struggles. These experiences have softened me and expanded my compassion. They have taught me that real strength is often quiet and steady, formed not in dramatic moments, but in faithful perseverance.

Peace, I have learned, does not come from having all the answers. It comes from trusting the One who does.

Each day, as I read the words on my mirror and let water run over my hands, I am reminded that God’s love is greater than my fear, God’s desire for my happiness is deeper than my understanding, and God’s wisdom is guiding me even when the path feels unfamiliar.

Life may be a journey without a map, but I am no longer afraid of getting lost. I am learning to trust the Guide who walks with me, step by step.

And in that trust, even with challenges, I can honestly say I have never been happier or more at peace.