Podcast: Play in new window
Yes, the hospital was hard.
Coming home was even harder.
Unexpected challenges in life take us on rides of a lifetime. The question is what will we have learned or better yet, learned and used, once the ride slows or comes to an end?
Last week I shared lessons I learned from my hospital stays (yes, there were two). This week, I continue to share some of the lessons I’ve learned — some of which I’m still in the process of learning and walking out. My prayer is that today’s episode might shed light on something that you hadn’t thought of before or remind you to act on something you already know to be true.
As I’ve shared my journey on social media and with you on the podcast, some of you have applauded me for finding something good to share as I make my way through this situation or choosing to encourage you while I make progress. I don’t think there is anything noble about my outlook at all. Why? Because this is what I should do. Believe it or not, it’s not natural for me at all. I’m naturally a “glass-half-empty” person and choosing to see the glass from another angle is hard work. Making a choice to view life from the right lens is a choice that I should make. And that’s what we should ALL do and if it doesn’t come naturally then we should strive to do so. The stuff we experience in life is always the stuff we can learn from and use to share with others.
That’s what this journey is all about. Loving God. Loving others.
So like I said last week, here’s what I want for you and for me… learn the lesson. Let no season in life pass without grasping tightly to the lessons there are to learn as you simply pay attention to your life “along the way”.
And if you can grasp a hold of a lesson by learning from me — that’s good too.
Highlights from Today’s Episode:
- Fight the fight
- Resting well
- Spending time and energy well
- Celebration and the gift of friendship
- The wonderful wonder that you are
==> General Links
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- Grab my latest book, She’s Still There!
- Kingdom Woman by Chrystal Evans Hurst and Tony Evans
Let’s Talk!
After you’ve listened to the podcast, I’d love to continue the conversation. Be sure and leave a comment!
- What lessons have you learned “along the way”?
- In what way do you need to fight for your life?
- Have you learned to give yourself the gift of rest? What does that look like practically in your life?
Connect with me…
How to Listen to The Podcast
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You have been so great to join me on the journey here on the blog, I hope you jump right in and do the same on the podcast!
Loved hearing all the lessons you have learned. Thank you for sharing. Blessings as you fully recover.
Thanks for recording another inspiring podcast. I was blessed by every minute of it. ? ❤
Thank you for for reminding me that it’s ok to fight. Fighting doesn’t make me weak or strong it’s just a part of the journey. My prayers are with you as you recover and remember to REST.
Speaking of resting and healing… Have you heard the story of Jon McMahon?
Last year he was in a bad condition, obese, diabetic, silent heart attack, and damage to his feet.
He went to a several experts to learn more about what he could do, but he was so sick and
food addicted he could not do any thing to help himself. He was filming a documentary of himself
and what he was learning.
While I was watching this documentary, it was looking hopeless for him.
But then, he went to an interesting place where he could experience true resting and carefully supervised water only fasting. Now he has a new beginning. He has healed so much. No more diabetes. He is learning and practicing good habits. He shares his story in the documentary series
It’s called “i thrive”. Resting is so powerful. People need to encourage and support each other.
This season has been really hard. Mostly because I had to wrestle with and fight so many things on my own. Coming home from the hospital was hard for me too, in 2014 and 2015, but coming home from the mental hospital is a bit different because I’ve been isolated. Friends stayed at a distance. I had to come home and face court dates the next day, and CPS workers that told you, you must be supervised with your children at all times because someone said you threatened to kill them and yourself. Then there are the thoughts, like what happened to my glasses, did my family throw them away because they weren’t expecting to come back. Who actually lied and said I threatened to do those things. Who was going to step up to stay with me during the nights because CPS didn’t do there job to collect what they needed an extended the 24 hour supervision with my own kids, kids that I would lay down my life to protect. Honestly the only person that stepped up to help was the one I didn’t even want to let in my house. My child’s father who abandoned me through the pregnancy, but needed a place to stay, no thank you. So I risked losing my kids because no one else stepped up. I have been a very good friend, but in a time I needed a friend the most, none could be found. I retreated and began to trust no one. I cried myself to sleep most nights, praying my way through. Reconnecting has been hard but I chose to leave unknowns unknowned and move forward in forgiveness. I have learned to rest more and cry out to God for help, I held onto Isaiah 41:10. I can truly say that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother because it was all I had in the midnight hour. When I could trust no one, I knew I could trust Him. I am a big hearted person, but it’s hard when your heart has been trampled upon to continue giving and loving, but I didn’t want to be bitter and resentful, so I made a choice to put my heart in God’s hands. To openly talk about my pain and fears with my counselor, bible study group, and through writing. In some ways I isolated but an isolation that was needed to rest, heal, catch my breath and learn how to guard my heart and truly put on the whole armor of God.
Thank you for this podcast! It was truly inspirational. You have such a gift- praise God that you are praising Him through the midst of these circumstances!