It's the most WONDERFUL time of the year!
This time of the year is, without a doubt, my favorite time to be alive. While I often find myself living for the summer (which is true) this time of the year is phenomenal. All things wonderful culminate during this period of the year:
- the leaves are at the peak of their beauty
- football season is at the best part of the schedule
- Halloween candy goes on sale
- Browns, oranges, and deep mustard yellows can be seen throughout every store (minus those stores who decide to skip Thanksgiving all together and move right into the red and green color palette)
- the school year is getting settled into a routine
- my family gets to see each other more often
There are many, many more reasons why I love this time of the year. It's beautiful.
My challenge, and maybe it's also your challenge, is to not get so caught up in looking ahead towards Christmas that I miss the moment. Also, don't get so caught up in the routine of life that you forget to LIVE. Soak up the crisp air and enjoy this season. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!
Today I got called out for something that was:
1) done by someone who I only know in a professional manner and have rarely spoken to outside of a school setting, and
2) done in an entirely rude and flippant way.
I am the type of person who puts up a barrier when things bother me and act like it is no big deal, all the while internalizing and stewing over the comments and dwelling on the harsh words. Instead of speaking up and confronting what is said or done, I silently toil over it for hours afterwards. So today, when this comment was said, I thought about it constantly throughout my meal and contemplated how valid the accusation actually was in my life.
Hear me when I say....It is very healthy for my friends to call me out on things in my life that I need to see more clearly. Sometimes, I get so caught up in my day to day life that I get tunnel-vision and can't see past myself. I can't see the blindspots in my life that are present sometimes and when people are looking in from the outside it is more clear to them. Hebrews chapter 10 directly addresses our need for this in our lives saying "let us spur one another on toward love..."
However, today this comment was made by neither my friend nor was it done out of love. It was coming from a place of annoyance with something that I did, not out of trying to help me see myself more clearly. Tempers were short, words were harsh, and feelings were hurt (mine).
I know that I need to speak up for myself and kindly say thank you but no thank you to the "advice" this person dishes out on my personality. Part of me also is saying to just coin the old phrase and "take it with a grain of salt" and move on. Still, I might dwell on this a while...it's part of my people-pleaser nature. But let it be said that calling someone out is a very healthy, Biblical action that should be done in love by someone you have a relationship with. That, when it is done in love, is when I will heed the warning signs for my life and find a way to fix my personality flaws. Until then, I will be more self-aware about this particular issue and move on...
The longer you wait....the harder it is to get started back up again.
This is a life lesson that can be applied to all facets of my life: from being productive at work, to working out...and everywhere in between. This statement is as close to absolute truth as I can think of (besides, well...absolute truth).
That is the reason that I have been putting off blogging every time I have thought about it--because I have been away for so long. It is very hard to get back into this, because it has been too long. There's literally no way to update my loyal 6 followers (ha!) what has been going on in my life but that's not stopping me from pushing through and writing.
I am thinking right now about how many things I have put off doing because it would be too hard to get back started with. Right now, I'm going through a lazy season where I don't want to go to the gym. I haven't been in over a month (eeeek!) and I keep telling myself that it will be a hard transition getting back into it. But, just like blogging...the show must go on. It's time to get it together and stop making excuses.
...hope you didn't have high expectations for this first blog post back in action. I'm a little rusty. Thanks for giving me some grace.
