Good Evening!
I hope you all are enjoying your summer thus far!
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| Here is a bit of summer that I've been enjoying...:) I'm DEFINITELY a FRESH STRAWBERRY kinda girl! <3 |
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Tonight's blog post is going to be a little different than usual.
I've been a bit melancholy the last few days.
Not necessarily in a bad way...
just a little lost in my own thoughts and imaginings.
Some of my thoughts have revolved around Lysa TerKeurst's book, "Unglued".
Our ladies group at church have just finished the video series
Lysa put out in addition to the book.
And I personally just finished reading the book.
It was...eye-opening...to say the least.
As you can see from the image,
"Unglued" is about "making wise choices in the midst of raw emotions".
(I don't know about you, but I DEFINITELY needed help in that area!)
Through-out the book, Lysa talks about making "imperfect progress".
Meaning, (I will direct these statements to myself) I do not have to become a super Christian overnight.
I do not have to beat myself up and think that I've totally blown it
and can never recover when I mess up and let my emotions run away with me.
Imperfect progress is simply realizing where I messed up
and getting up and trying again to handle my raw emotions better the next time.
It is also realizing that I'm not expected to do any of this on my own.
I have a Helping Hand ready and willing to come to my aid whenever I call upon Him.
All of this might see elementary to you,
but these ideas were Revelation from Heaven to me.
I tend to be very hard on myself.
I am my own worst critic.
And, a lot of the time, I assume that I how I feel about myself;
is how everyone feels about me.
My head, my logic knows this is not the case,
but my heart, my emotions, lose sight of that occasionally.
(Yes, this really is where my mind goes when I'm feeling melancholy...
my thoughts also tend to be a little scattered as you will read in the next paragraph.
As a great man of God once said,
"It may seem like we have scrambled eggs right now,
but stick with me and it will all come together
and we will have an omelet in the end.")
"The journey to self discovery begins with a single step"
...that is probably a misquote of something somebody awesome once said.
(I was right, I just looked it up...
the actual quote by Confucius - I knew it was someone awesome - is:
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".
But since this is my blog, I suppose I can rearrange quotes to make my point...)
I know from personal experience that Confucius' statement is true
and I can honestly say that it has been an encouragement to me in times past.
It makes a HUGE goal seem more manageable.
However, at this time in my life, I'm getting tired if all these "single" steps
(to me it feels like they are itty-bitty baby steps)...
I'M READY TO SEE SOME REAL PROGRESS!
And preferably better progress than "imperfect progress"...
(See, I'm slowly bringing it back together...)
I seriously doubt that I am alone in this.
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| None of us are taking this step of faith alone... |
We all have issues and occurrences that come up in our lives
and show us exactly how raw our emotions really are.
For me, it is frustrations at work combined with havoc in my personal life.
These things make me irritable and ungrateful.
I want to lash out at anyone and everyone in my path
even though I know they are not the problem.
I AM THE PROBLEM.
I am not dealing with my raw emotions.
I am not seeking assistance from that Helping Hand at my side.
Honestly, facing these facts can do one of two things:
(A) - it can open my eyes and cause me to do what I should've done in the beginning:
pray for the Lord's help with my attitude
or (B) - it can drive me further into those raw emotions
and I end up making a bigger mess than ever.
But whatever happens, the decision is mine.
The choice is up to me and me alone.
So, for today at least
- cause I know these raw emotions are going to be waiting for me in the morning -
I'm not going to let my raw emotions get the best of me.
I'm praying for patience and guidance in my workplace.
I'm praying for the peace of God and
His Will to be accomplished in my personal life.
It's funny...I feel better already :).
The bottom line is this:
Life isn't always a tea party.
(Yes, of course, I was just looking for an excuse to
share photos from our Princess Tea Party at work last week! lol
But the logic fits with what I'm saying...)
Life isn't always pleasant.
Sometimes, bad things happen to good people.
And sometimes, those good people are hurt to the point
that they become a little unglued.
We've all been there a time or two.
Right now, my family is facing some serious issues.
They are painful for us.
They are issues that we ourselves cannot fix.
Only God can fix them
and only He knows how things are going to turn out.
Even though it is not easy,
I'm choosing to put my trust in Him
in that He knows what He's doing
and He will work everything for my family's good.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you were somewhat able to keep up with my scattered, melancholy thoughts.
I have one last thought accompanied by a photo to share with you this evening.
When you're caught up in the havoc and chaos of everyday life
and you feel like you can't take anymore,
spend some time with a child.
You will leave with a whole new perspective.
