Overcoming Challenges Part-2

“One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks.”

-Jack Penn

What challenges are you currently facing? What are you doing to ensure you overcome? What are you learning in the process? And how have these challenges help to shape your life? You may not always understand why certain things happen, but someday it will all make sense. What if the obstacles were created to help you think bigger? What if you needed to experience something uncomfortable to change the trajectory of your life?

These last three weeks have been so uncomfortable, but great opportunities of growth for me. On last week I shared about my experience since contracting COVID-19 and how this time of quarantine and separation from my family has really challenged and also helped me to see life differently. Once I started changing my prospective and using my time alone to reflect and really work on my mental, emotional , spiritual and physical health, it seemed like the time started to pass swiftly.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read part one, please take the time to check it out. Today is day number twenty three since testing positive, and for the last couple of days I’ve been symptom free. Day seventeen through twenty were up and down with symptoms of nausea, headache and cough it seemed never ending. After drinking lots of hot tea, cough medicine and making sure to get a lot of rest I started feeling better. Today is the day I’m getting retested and I’m praying and believing that the results will come back negative. This has truly been an experience for me, but there was a scripture I read a few days ago in James 1:3 that says, “For you know that when your faith has been tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ”

This season has been a true endurance builder and nothing but an opportunity for me to grow. I feel like my life has been on pause for the whole month of June. My normal day to day stay at home mom and virtual teaching routine completely changed. As i’m getting towards the end of this time and looking back on the beginning of this experience one thing this has taught me is the importance of focusing on the things that really matter in life. I was so use to always being busy, doing things every minute of the day, making sure the kids are taken care of, cleaning the house, my mind going non stop with all the things I need to get done. But now I understand that those things that seemed important in the moment are not as big as they seemed. I now see the importance of valuing every moment with my family, putting down the phone and stepping away from social media to really understand, love, and value the very things I have right before me eyes.

Spiritually this time has lit me on fire. God showed me so many things in my heart that I needed to change. So many filters over my heart from the experiences of life that has tainted the way I see things. I spent so much time in Gods presence allowing Him to heal me and show me how much He loves me. He loved me so much that He stopped me in my tracks to help me face what was in my heart.

Mentally I’ve learn the importance of journaling and making time to reflect on my emotions and thoughts. I haven’t been on social media much during this time because mentally it seems that everything going on in the world is really overwhelming. So I’ve been reading books, writing, listening to music and watching some great Netflix movies which has been really refreshing. I’m learning to really guard what I allow myself to watch and take in because I notice the difference it makes in my mental health.

Emotionally i’ve learned the important of acknowledging how I feel and digging deep to understand why I feel a certain way. I’m also learning to be aware of my thoughts and being mindful of what I allow myself to dwell on because it has a big effect on me emotionally. One thing this season has taught me was that it’s ok to have bad days because there are moments when you won’t feel at your best and that’s completely okay. It’s also taught me that everyday is an opportunity to start fresh, so if yesterday wasn’t great this new day is your chance too start again.

Physically this time has been challenging because I haven’t gone outside much. I really didn’t want to risk other people getting sick, plus some days I just wasn’t feeling my best. But during this last week on the days I did feel good I challenged myself to do this 7 minute workout by Lucy Wyndham- Read on YouTube. This workout was intense and I was out of breath during the first two minutes so I had to take breaks in between each routine. It wasn’t my normal way of working out but it got the job done and kept me active. I enjoyed getting a little exercise in.

I’m learning how important it is to reflect on the challenges you experience and find ways to grow through it. Things may be difficult in the moment, but there is something beautiful being created through it. Don’t ever give up! The verse that follows in James 1:4 says, So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. This shows me that the challenges are developing the endurance you need for Gods work to be perfected in your life. You may not understand it but He has given you the grace to walk through it. I hope this encouraged you today. Thanks for reading.

What is one thing you’ve learned from a challenged you’ve face? I would love to hear about your personal experiences and have they have changed you.