Here begins my blogging debut. Thanks for reading (mom :) ) I am about to begin a year of training to become a midwife in order to go help women and children in Central Asia. The responses to what I am doing is varied, but most look at me with  great concern and I am sure are thinking, "Chris must have gone a bit crazy". I get it and understand where they are coming from, but maybe this may add a glimpse into my "crazy" thinking. 

I have had the wonderful privilege of working as a nurse caring for cancer patients. I have learned so much about life and how to walk gracefully through some of the hardest circumstances.  It is watching my patients navigate the rough waters of life that taught me to see the beauty a whole new way. Their ability to hope in the midst of tough times is like a flower growing in the midst of the desert.

 It is strikingly beautiful. 

The road ahead will be hard and probably extremely difficult at times, but I am certain there is beauty to be discovered at each step. I want to celebrate the beauty of the women who have been shrouded by their cultural rules and to shine light on the good in a land of adversity.