Every morning when I get in my car, I play a fun little game with my stereo. I just spin the dial and leave it to Destiny’s roulette wheel to see which song my cue is going to land on and help me find my groove for the day. It’s kind of the best game EVER, part of my “music thing” therapy, and one of the little life nuggets I enjoy the most. So, this morning, the first song up was Iron Maiden’s “Wasted Years”.

I will never forget that Saturday afternoon in June of 2008 as I settled into my seat on Flight 438 and listened to this song as we flew. Thirty-eight seemingly “wasted years” in my rearview mirror and ZERO idea how many more were yet to come. Little did I know that an actual angel would show up in the seat beside me and change the course of my life forever, but he did, and here I am, “so far away” from the person I used to be who was then, indeed, “just a stranger to myself”.

Not a single one of the years laid behind me were wasted … not a second, minute, or hour. They were the best and worst parts of everything I’ve become and why I’m still alive to tell you about it. This morning as I listened to it, I was inspired, yet again, to KEEP “facing up and making my stand” because YES, I truly am living in my Golden years! Have I ever told you what an incredibly blessed woman I am? Okay, well then, let me say it again:

I AM AN INCREDIBLY BLESSED WOMAN!

My name is Catherine Marie Williamson, I’m God’s favorite daughter, an apostrophe to the world, and a risen from ashes QUEEN.

WASTED YEARS

From the coast of gold, across the Seven Seas. I’m traveling on, far and wide. But now it seems, I’m just a stranger to myself. And all the things I sometimes do, it isn’t me but someone else. I close my eyes and think of home. Another city goes by in the night. Ain’t it funny how it is? You never miss it ’til it’s gone away. And my heart is lying there and will be ’til my dying day. So, understand. Don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years. Face up, make your stand! And realize you’re living in the golden years. Too much time on my hands, I got you on my mind. Can’t ease this pain so easily. When you can’t find the words to say, it’s hard to make it through another day. And it makes me want to cry and throw my hands up to the sky. So, understand. Don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years. Face up, make your stand! And realize you’re living in the golden years. {Iron Maiden}