Time flies!

Wow! It has been just over 4 years since I last posted and those 4 years have been some of the most pivotal in my life. When I started Journey to Wellness, it was with the intention of focusing in fitness and nutrition. Little did I know that my Journey to Wellness would continue and that it would add so many different dimensions. Though I am still incredibly passionate about health and fitness, I have a broader focus currently.

For those who do not know (or want a quick ... not so quick catch up), we have had a really life changing couple of years. 2 1/2 years ago God tapped me on the shoulder when Financial Peace University was being offered at our church. There was no doubt in my mind that Brad and I would be taking that. We had a pretty decent handle on our money but it could definitely use a clearer budget and more structure. Brad had just started a great job locally and the timing seemed awesome .. minus the craziness of a 6th grader, Junior and Senior in high school as well as both of us working. We actually loved the class, dove into the teaching and really changed our thoughts on finances. I am a total nerd when it comes to budgeting and love the structure of the baby steps. For those who are confused . . .I am happy to explain more. At this point we hunkered down, had an awesome budget and attacked Baby Step 3 (3-6 month emergency fund). Life felt pretty good. We had an incredible opportunity for the 5 of us to go on a 2 week vacation to the east coast . . .completely cash flowed. Felt so good to come home without the burden of owing for a vacation! In August, the kids and I were blessed to go with our church to Mexico on a mission trip. Also, in August we completed Baby Step 3 and were ready to move on to the next steps. While on this mission trip, Brad called and that "great" job was no more. We actually were both incredibly thankful that the kids and I were on this trip. Brad and I each had a week to process. When I got home, we were able to sit down and in 5 minutes rework our budget to the bare bones (thank you FPU). Little did we know that this 3-6 month emergency fund would end up stretching 18 months. I will get more into this 18 months another time. Can I tell you how incredibly hard that time was? What a challenge it was for our marriage? What a life changing growth opportunity it was? How God showed up in the most amazing ways and blessed us every step of the way? I would not change that experience for the world and I pray we never go through it again.

Brad was blessed to be "reassigned" at the end of January. February 9th I was 4 weeks into a new job and Brad 2 weeks into his. Grace and I were headed home from running errands on a storming day when we hit a patch of ice and slammed sideways into another car that had slid off the road right before us. Thankfully Grace was fine! As we discovered over the course of days and weeks, I was (and still am) not. Many of you have travelled on the journey with us as I work to heal and recover from a concussion and whiplash. What a most humbling experience to have everything you were able do taken away. Note, this is the first time I have tolerated a computer screen for any length of time in 4 months. For those who know me, know that I am a go getter. What do you do when all the things . .. . exercise, time with people, cooking, reading, work, church, etc are stripped away? You rest. You rest in the knowledge that God is in control and that He has me here for a reason. You have pity parties some days (not my best moments but it is truth). You start to accept the Journey to Wellness and give yourself grace. And, you listen. You listen to what God is telling you. For the longest time He was clear in his message of rest. Though He still is telling me to listen to my body and rest, He has also dumped some incredible dreams and goals in my space.

Yes, this update could be taken as pretty depressing but it's not. Yes, it has been HARD. So so so incredibly hard. Brad and I have gone from moments of truly not knowing how we could possibly stay married (except we do not believe divorce is an option) to our marriage being better than it ever has been. We are seeing God bless us in all areas of our lives/family.

You guys, this recovery really stinks. I am not going to pretend it doesn't. It is only the past 10 days that I have felt pretty decent and able to go for 45 minute walks without triggering a bunch of concussion symptoms. Part of my therapy involves electric stimulation on my tongue and face. This hurts! Most of my therapies involve the most basic of tasks like focusing on an object. When your eyes are not functioning together, this gets really tricky! Have you ever thought about how big our world is? Simply standing in my yard takes a lot for my brain to process. So, we move slow and eventually everything should start to play nice together again. In the meantime, lots of rest! And, in the midst of my very simple existence are so many blessings. I certainly could have been hurt worse. We have the most amazing practitioners in this town to treat me. Brad has a job and is working from home so is able to be super dad, super mom, super employee, etc! I get tons of time with Grace (she might not see this as a blessing but I do!). I will get to spend a ton of time with my family this summer. We have learned to accept help. I have had the gift of time to really stop, hear, regain perspective, and start to see my true purpose.

So, until I can spend hours writing my book, my blog will get to serve as my chance to share what I have learned, the epiphanies I have had, the reflections on life, etc. I share because I know how much it helps me to hear people be real and to know I am not alone on this earth in the good times and challenges. Not sure that any of us will ever "arrive" at wellness but the journey is really the story anyway.