Shaped

All kinds of things shape us into who we are.  For me it was being daughter #2 out of 6 and no brothers, the church I was raised in, married at 19, children, two careers, my husband’s unexpected death, and grandchildren.  Events and circumstances throughout my 60+ years, some beyond my control, shaped me in both good and bad ways.  As an adult, other people shaped me, but only if I let them.  In a close relationship, such as my marriage, there was mutual shaping, which lasted 36 years and therefore the most significant shaping of my life.  Shaping is one of those processes that never ends.  Sometimes it can be a tough process and other times it happens without being noticed.  Shape and re-shape over and over again is a good thing too because it’s the way I thrive, and at other times survive.  It’s the way I learned to live with my husband and learning now to live alone.  Shaping myself is sometimes like being a lump of clay on a potter’s wheel just going around and around, and other times like I’m masterfully carving a chunk of wood into an amazing bowl so full it’s overflowing.