Giving Yourself Grace

Over the past year I've had to come to terms with what my "new normal" is. By that, I don't mean that I've had some dramatic shift in my life that's taken me by complete surprise. I've had to accept that my myriad of health problems aren't going away. I don't have a "someday" that I've been planning on for so long. "Someday" my feet will be as good as there were when I was a kid. "Someday" I'll discover a magical medication that doesn't currently exist that cures my dizziness. "Someday" I'll finally outgrow my insomnia and feel well rested. "Someday" I'll have the energy to come home from work and do the dishes immediately. I'm not going to get my someday. And you know what? That's okay.

Today, I have a job that allows me to be as flexible as needed when I am too dizzy to drive. Today, I have people who know my weaknesses and are willing to help me work around them to do what I want. Today, I have an amazing husband who makes sure I'm remembering what I need to in order to be as healthy as I can be. Today, he helps me to do the dishes. Today, I have a clean house because my sister secretly did all the chores while we visited family in Oregon. Today... is a pretty great day.

Today everyone is experiencing some set back, or disappointment, or just having a bad day. And that's okay. Bad days happen and will continue to happen until God calls us home. When those setbacks and disappointments arise, it's important to remember to give yourself some slack. Readjust your priorities. Find friends or family to lean on until it's no longer a bad day. You might find some surprising things along the way.