When it rains it pours!

Why is it in life that it feels like everything hits at one time? When it rains, it pours. There’s a storm, sometimes a tsunami. I wish I knew why, but unfortunately, it seems it does. My heart has been heavy this week. My husband is stressed right now, I have friends dealing with stressful situations, I have two family situations that seriously feel like they’re going to get the best of me, the world is in chaos, people I know are dealing with serious sicknesses, Fathers Day is coming up and that’s difficult for some people. You get the point and I am sure others are feeling heavy today as well. During this time it seems tiredness is ever looming even though you may be getting plenty of sleep, exercising and trying to take care of yourself. We get mentally exhausted and we need to realize this is something we need to take care of as well.

We all have these seasons of life. It’s inevitable, we can’t always be living on the mountaintop or on a bed of roses. It’s during these tough times that we really see what we’re made of. It’s during these tough times that our courage and character are tested and built. When life is good, we tend to not work as hard or try as hard. I’m not going to lie, I don’t like these seasons. Right now, running sounds like a great idea, but I know that running won’t solve anything. When things are left un-dealt with, they tend to rear their ugly heads. Over and over and over!

So how do we get through these times? Very carefully! Very intentionally! I read today that there’s a tremendous difference between having conflict and it having you. That’s so true; yet so hard to not let it take over our thoughts and cause depression and anxiety and frustration and sometimes anger. It’s so hard to not sit down in a corner and cry. It’s so hard not to want to bury our heads in the sand. It’s hard sometimes not to run away! Its hard not to be fearful and to worry! It’s just hard, plain and simple! Life.is.hard!

So I ask again, how do we get through these times? The Bible says we will have trouble on this earth. We all know we will, but the real key is finding healthy ways to cope with this trouble. I have a few different ways I try to deal when life gets tough. The older I get, the more I try to ask myself what is this trying to teach me? What lesson do I need to learn? Sometimes that helps you change in your mindset and you begin looking more for a solution and focusing less on the problem. I go to counseling. That has been huge and something I have done several times over the years. I pray and I meditate. I read the Bible and other books to help me cope and I listen to podcasts. I let myself have a great big ole cry, but I try not to stay there for weeks on end. Right this second as I write, I’m about to hop on my bike and go ride about 6 miles to clear my head.

I am not the expert on the subject of what to do, I can only tell you what works for me, but I will say this. I hope you will look for healthy ways to deal with what’s going on around you. Don’t eat yourself or drink yourself into a coma. Don’t hurt yourself. Don’t hurt others. Don’t blame. Don’t be mean and angry. All of these things are just going to lead to more problems that you’re going to have to clean up. I know this from experience! Dealing with things in unhealthy ways just leads to more trouble.

Be encouraged today. Look for the rainbow today. That’s the beautiful part of a storm, we get to see the rainbow! This too shall pass. Nothing lasts forever! Just choose to change your mindset, like I am going to do, and realize we will get through this! Don’t be fixed on the fact that things will never get better nor ever change. Things can and will get better if you choose to believe and do the work to make it happen.

With love for you all,

Shauna