Over the last week, Facebook has been sharing "Memories" with me of what was going on in my life three years ago.
Three years ago, I went in for an upper endoscopy and an MRI to try to determine the cause of my chronic abdominal pain and digestive issues.
Praise the Lord, everything was OK in there, (as in no cancer or severe illness), and it was very relieving to hear and see that, but it didn't answer what WAS wrong, and it took a long, long time before things really got better and I began healing.
Seeing the Facebook memories has had me thinking about how things were three years ago, and has made me that much more thankful for the progress I've made and the healing that continues to happen.
Three years ago, I was a mess.....an anxious, miserable, depressed, sick mess. I had a one-year-old son, and a two-year-old daughter, and I felt barely able to take care of them. My son Nathaniel had terrible colds for the first two years of his life, and neither him nor Sophie slept well for the first three years of their lives, and it was kind of a disaster...
I tried a lot of things, especially supplements, to bring my disfunctioning system back into order but it didn't really work...I was too anxious and stressed.
Sometimes I have a tendency to ruminate, to get really stuck in my own head, and it's really easy to make yourself crazy that way. But it's hard to know how to turn off the switch, as it were, and just be present and focus on the here and now instead of on what could be.
I am learning lately how being intentional and focusing your energy on what you want in your life or what you want yourself to be is often the secret to achieving those goals. For example, I know I should be kind to others, but sometimes I am unkind. Now, I have a choice; I can either focus on how every day I mess up and sin and act unkindly, or I can start each telling myself, "I am kind" and then when I do fail at that, ask for forgiveness, and then keep focusing on being kind. Because what happens is, when our inner dialogue goes something like: "I should be more kind. Why can't I be more kind? Why do I fail at this every single day? I just cant seem to get it right," then we actually end up setting ourselves up for failure.
I hope that I'm making sense here....
Physically, this can really play out, with really obvious results.
Now, before anyone feels like I'm saying "it's all in your head" or "you are completely in charge of everything that's happening physically inside your body", please understand, that is NOT what I'm am saying.
But, our outlook/attitude/awareness really does make a difference.
If you spend every day thinking "I always feel sick!" or worrying about getting cancer, or tell everyone "I can never sleep!", those things do become more of your reality.
Now, again, I am just learning how to use this to my advantage....because it works both ways. If you can focus on positive things, then that reality will also grow.
The way my NAET practitioner Alicia put it was, "When you refocus your awareness on something positive, then the negative shrinks and can eventually dissipate."
Makes sense to me. It also feels better.
I mentioned in my last post that I have been struggling a bit lately, and one of the things I have been struggling with is my weight. If you know me/see me in person, that is probably a bit of a surprise....I'm not overweight at all, and part of me knows that....but there's another part of me that is really struggling with five pounds that I would rather not have on me. Five. Pounds. I feel silly even now, writing this, but it is true. It has been bothering me way more that it really should.
I am healthier than I have EVER been. I am happy and feel much more at peace than I ever have. Why then, do those five little pounds take up so many of my thoughts and energy? I really don't know why.
So, Alicia and I have been working on that, and I have been trying to focus on the fact that I am happy, healthy, strong, and well. Those things matter more than a number on the scale. Or they should anyway.
I am reminded of what the Bible says too, about focusing our awareness on positive things...
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." (Phillipains 4:8)
The more brain space we give to the positive things, the more these things will take over.
Three years ago, I was not in a positive space. I was frustrated and confused and just trying so hard to figure out what was wrong with me.
Sometimes, we can only get well when we stop thinking about what's wrong, and start focusing on what's right.
Three years ago, the MRI and upper endoscopy showed us healthy tissue and normally functioning organs. What needed to be fixed most of all was not something that would show up on those things...
I needed to learn to trust God more, whatever may come, and I needed to learn that I can still find joy and peace in any situation because of Him. And I needed to learn to let things go, and just trust that they would work themselves out to a certain extent. It was a scary thing to go through, but I am thankful to have gone through it.
So try to let yourself be consumed with postitve things, with gratitude, with joy. And the things in your life that are burdening you, will eventually become less of an issue. Kinda like how your Mom would tell you to just ignore your pesky little brother and eventually he will get tired of working so hard for your attention and leave you alone. :)
There is always something to be thankful for, always something to look forward to, and always Someone who cares.
Occupy your conscious mind with lovely things and you will see more loveliness unfolding in your life.
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."(Proverbs 17:22)
Three years ago, I went in for an upper endoscopy and an MRI to try to determine the cause of my chronic abdominal pain and digestive issues.
Praise the Lord, everything was OK in there, (as in no cancer or severe illness), and it was very relieving to hear and see that, but it didn't answer what WAS wrong, and it took a long, long time before things really got better and I began healing.
Seeing the Facebook memories has had me thinking about how things were three years ago, and has made me that much more thankful for the progress I've made and the healing that continues to happen.
Three years ago, I was a mess.....an anxious, miserable, depressed, sick mess. I had a one-year-old son, and a two-year-old daughter, and I felt barely able to take care of them. My son Nathaniel had terrible colds for the first two years of his life, and neither him nor Sophie slept well for the first three years of their lives, and it was kind of a disaster...
I tried a lot of things, especially supplements, to bring my disfunctioning system back into order but it didn't really work...I was too anxious and stressed.
Sometimes I have a tendency to ruminate, to get really stuck in my own head, and it's really easy to make yourself crazy that way. But it's hard to know how to turn off the switch, as it were, and just be present and focus on the here and now instead of on what could be.
I am learning lately how being intentional and focusing your energy on what you want in your life or what you want yourself to be is often the secret to achieving those goals. For example, I know I should be kind to others, but sometimes I am unkind. Now, I have a choice; I can either focus on how every day I mess up and sin and act unkindly, or I can start each telling myself, "I am kind" and then when I do fail at that, ask for forgiveness, and then keep focusing on being kind. Because what happens is, when our inner dialogue goes something like: "I should be more kind. Why can't I be more kind? Why do I fail at this every single day? I just cant seem to get it right," then we actually end up setting ourselves up for failure.
I hope that I'm making sense here....
Physically, this can really play out, with really obvious results.
Now, before anyone feels like I'm saying "it's all in your head" or "you are completely in charge of everything that's happening physically inside your body", please understand, that is NOT what I'm am saying.
But, our outlook/attitude/awareness really does make a difference.
If you spend every day thinking "I always feel sick!" or worrying about getting cancer, or tell everyone "I can never sleep!", those things do become more of your reality.
Now, again, I am just learning how to use this to my advantage....because it works both ways. If you can focus on positive things, then that reality will also grow.
The way my NAET practitioner Alicia put it was, "When you refocus your awareness on something positive, then the negative shrinks and can eventually dissipate."
Makes sense to me. It also feels better.
I mentioned in my last post that I have been struggling a bit lately, and one of the things I have been struggling with is my weight. If you know me/see me in person, that is probably a bit of a surprise....I'm not overweight at all, and part of me knows that....but there's another part of me that is really struggling with five pounds that I would rather not have on me. Five. Pounds. I feel silly even now, writing this, but it is true. It has been bothering me way more that it really should.
I am healthier than I have EVER been. I am happy and feel much more at peace than I ever have. Why then, do those five little pounds take up so many of my thoughts and energy? I really don't know why.
So, Alicia and I have been working on that, and I have been trying to focus on the fact that I am happy, healthy, strong, and well. Those things matter more than a number on the scale. Or they should anyway.
I am reminded of what the Bible says too, about focusing our awareness on positive things...
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." (Phillipains 4:8)
The more brain space we give to the positive things, the more these things will take over.
Three years ago, I was not in a positive space. I was frustrated and confused and just trying so hard to figure out what was wrong with me.
Sometimes, we can only get well when we stop thinking about what's wrong, and start focusing on what's right.
Three years ago, the MRI and upper endoscopy showed us healthy tissue and normally functioning organs. What needed to be fixed most of all was not something that would show up on those things...
I needed to learn to trust God more, whatever may come, and I needed to learn that I can still find joy and peace in any situation because of Him. And I needed to learn to let things go, and just trust that they would work themselves out to a certain extent. It was a scary thing to go through, but I am thankful to have gone through it.
So try to let yourself be consumed with postitve things, with gratitude, with joy. And the things in your life that are burdening you, will eventually become less of an issue. Kinda like how your Mom would tell you to just ignore your pesky little brother and eventually he will get tired of working so hard for your attention and leave you alone. :)
There is always something to be thankful for, always something to look forward to, and always Someone who cares.
Occupy your conscious mind with lovely things and you will see more loveliness unfolding in your life.
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones."(Proverbs 17:22)
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