Stop Drinking the Milk
You might think this post is about becoming vegan or changing our diet...but the real change I'm proposing comes from within.
This was a week filled with challenges. We spent one full day at hospital getting hydration and support. The heat zaps a person with a serious illness and staying on top of increased pain and dehydration is difficult. I am still dealing with the wind down and sale of our businesses which seemed to consume far too much of my brain space this week. I had a little talk with a support person assigned to me and she said that my feelings are understandable, especially in light of the fact I haven't been sleeping for weeks, maybe months. Her comment that: Sleep Deprivation is a Form of Torture really hit home and actually I felt justified in being overwhelmed today. Maybe the fact that I need to even justify my feelings is part of the problem. 😊
So, where does the milk come in: tonight I ran out to grab dinner to bring home and just on a whim I pulled into the gas station. Here I saw a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years. His life had changed drastically, he had gone through some rough times and he knew my situation. We talked about facing difficulties and how when the whining stops.....it's time to step up and eat real food....to stop complaining, face life and get off the milk. Babies drink milk. Adults eat real food. Someone actually commented to me this week that if they were in my shoes, they would just quit, they would lock the office doors, walk away and just leave town. None of those things ever, ever, EVER entered my mind. When Sam was diagnosed, I knew we were a team, this is OUR illness. This is OUR challenge to face together. To properly deal with our businesses in the wind down is honouring to God and to Sam. My friend encouraged and reminded me tonight that God calls us to do hard and holy things. He calls us to put down the milk and to eat real food.
Don't get me wrong, self care is important but these days "me time" is taken to the extreme. I recognize there is no time for me to take stress leave, to collapse and refuse to care for Sam or to whine and not step up to this hard and holy thing God has called me to do right now. I can't claim burnout and refuse to engage in life. Or take off on vacation and cry that I need alone time. This is my hard and holy thing. Facing and dealing with hard situations gives us strength to continue in life. Just as lifting weights at the gym makes us stronger, challenges in life build our mental strength to continue to live and to grow. We don't collapse when we lift weights: we grow stronger for the next time! God provides for our family each and every day for me to face this. The milk is gone. Time to eat real food.
Thank you, God for allowing me to share the realness of life -- to share our journey with humility. I want to live life with fire and a holy joy. May God be glorified through our illness and may we stand strong together as a family.
This was a week filled with challenges. We spent one full day at hospital getting hydration and support. The heat zaps a person with a serious illness and staying on top of increased pain and dehydration is difficult. I am still dealing with the wind down and sale of our businesses which seemed to consume far too much of my brain space this week. I had a little talk with a support person assigned to me and she said that my feelings are understandable, especially in light of the fact I haven't been sleeping for weeks, maybe months. Her comment that: Sleep Deprivation is a Form of Torture really hit home and actually I felt justified in being overwhelmed today. Maybe the fact that I need to even justify my feelings is part of the problem. 😊
So, where does the milk come in: tonight I ran out to grab dinner to bring home and just on a whim I pulled into the gas station. Here I saw a friend I hadn't seen in a couple of years. His life had changed drastically, he had gone through some rough times and he knew my situation. We talked about facing difficulties and how when the whining stops.....it's time to step up and eat real food....to stop complaining, face life and get off the milk. Babies drink milk. Adults eat real food. Someone actually commented to me this week that if they were in my shoes, they would just quit, they would lock the office doors, walk away and just leave town. None of those things ever, ever, EVER entered my mind. When Sam was diagnosed, I knew we were a team, this is OUR illness. This is OUR challenge to face together. To properly deal with our businesses in the wind down is honouring to God and to Sam. My friend encouraged and reminded me tonight that God calls us to do hard and holy things. He calls us to put down the milk and to eat real food.
Don't get me wrong, self care is important but these days "me time" is taken to the extreme. I recognize there is no time for me to take stress leave, to collapse and refuse to care for Sam or to whine and not step up to this hard and holy thing God has called me to do right now. I can't claim burnout and refuse to engage in life. Or take off on vacation and cry that I need alone time. This is my hard and holy thing. Facing and dealing with hard situations gives us strength to continue in life. Just as lifting weights at the gym makes us stronger, challenges in life build our mental strength to continue to live and to grow. We don't collapse when we lift weights: we grow stronger for the next time! God provides for our family each and every day for me to face this. The milk is gone. Time to eat real food.
Thank you, God for allowing me to share the realness of life -- to share our journey with humility. I want to live life with fire and a holy joy. May God be glorified through our illness and may we stand strong together as a family.
The world has enough women who know how to do their hair. It needs women who know how to do hard and holy things.” –Ann Voskamp
I love the quote at the end!
ReplyDeleteMe, too! I cut my hair short this week. My priorities are shifting. 😊 You are a woman I look to that isn't afraid to do the hard and holy things!!
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