Building What Matters ~

Lately, I have been feeling something I have not experienced in quite a while: momentum.

For years, the ideas behind High Meadow Projects, Redeem Thyself, Empowering Parents Network, and 7 Pedals lived mostly in notebooks, journals, and on oversized Post-it notes taped to my wall. They were dreams I carried quietly, wondering if they would ever become more than ideas. Now they are beginning to move into conversations with real people.

I have started reaching out to organizations throughout California, Nevada, and Montana, exploring partnerships and laying the groundwork for grant-funded programming centered on storytelling, reflection, and music. Every conversation reminds me that these projects were never intended to exist in isolation. They were always meant to create spaces where people could gather, learn, reflect, and discover that none of us walks this journey alone.

In just a few weeks, I will return to Montana. I look forward to seeing familiar mountains and familiar faces, but I am equally excited about exploring new partnerships and discovering where these projects might take root. I have no idea what doors will open, but I have learned that opportunities often begin with simple conversations. The other realization this week came while thinking about work.

I have always loved building something from the ground up. Give me a struggling program, an idea without structure, or a vision waiting to be organized, and I come alive. I enjoy asking difficult questions, finding solutions, and creating systems that help people succeed.

Once those systems are established, however, something inside me begins looking toward the next challenge. For years, I assumed that restlessness was a weakness. Now I wonder if it is simply how God designed me. Perhaps I am not meant to stay in one place forever. Perhaps I am meant to create, strengthen, encourage, and then help begin something new.

As I reflected on that thought, I realized that High Meadow Projects is not another side project. It feels like the work I have been quietly preparing for throughout my career. Every experience as an educator, researcher, harpist, writer, survivor, and program developer seems to have been pointing toward this season. The practical realities remain.

There are grants to write, partnerships to build, music to arrange, books to finish, and a budget that requires patience. Like many people pursuing a dream, I still have a full-time job that makes it possible to build the work I hope one day becomes my full-time calling. Sometimes I wish I could move more quickly. Then I remember that meaningful things are rarely built overnight.

I recently read an article from the American Psychological Association discussing resilience and growth following adversity. One of the ideas that stayed with me is that purpose often develops through the very experiences we once wished had never happened. Looking back, I can see that many of the chapters I would never choose have become the foundation for the work I feel called to do today.

I do not know exactly what the next few years will hold. What I do know is this: for the first time in a long time, I feel as though I am not simply recovering from my past. I am building my future.

Have you ever realized that your life experiences were preparing you for something you could not yet see? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Kindly,

~ Julie

If you feel so inclined, please reply with your thoughts.

Note: JM Lane is NOT a mental health professional, nor does she carry a license to practice medicine. Posts, blogs, and content are based on JM Lane's personal experiences, perceptions, and reflections. By no means does any material convey what others should or should not do.

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