Like a Newborn Baby...

It's true...Day 8 and I'm still laid up on the couch as I write this. I haven't truly seen the outside world in more than a week and I'm wondering if that is some kind of Guinness World Record!?! Luckily, I do have a back porch and am able to enjoy the warm Fall weather on occasion. The knee...with bandages!

What could I possibly do for that length of time all couped up??? Have you ever hung out with a newborn? Haha, that's pretty much my life. SLEEP is what I've done the most. Who knew that I could need so much rest? EAT, yep, can never resist momma's home cooking, esp since I never cook (unless you count frozen waffles, cereal and heating up veggie burgers). READ, there's been lots of quite moments to get deep in the Word of God and journal and reflect on life as I know it. I cherish these times because they are so rare in the world as we know it. Just the other day I heard a great sermon by Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Church about the busyness of life and evaluating ourselves to see if we are people who "Seek First" or "Run After". Seeking first comes from Matthew 6:33, "Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you." Running after is what we do in society each day. Run after money, success, relationships, service, dreams, all the while lamenting that we don't have "time" for this or that. Moral of the story is, look at your life and find the non-negotiables and give them top priority, then let everything else sift into the cracks. This not only will salvage the things you love most, but will preserve your sanity.

I admittedly am often a "running after" person. My life has become a tangled web of decisions that funnel into a paper thin version of myself. This is not healthy, nor optimal. I want to be full and overflowing. Able to give out of abundance. One of my friends in med school called me out on this a while back diagnosing me with ATMS (Afraid To Miss Something) syndrome, haha, and he was right! I had removed the filter of what I truly wanted from my processing department and was being satisfied with more less fulfilling activities. Since then, I've been able to step back and re-evaluate what and who is important in my life. Understanding that levels of relationship are there for a reason and being at peace with that has helped me not stress about abandoning (partially) some relationships I don't have the time or effort to invest in.

Also, a healthy view of seasons in life has proven beneficial. Which brings me to the season I'm in now. A season of REST. Not that I like it or would choose it, but I feel that God knows that about me and sometimes creates space for what we truly need. And I'm resolved to appreciate it, sit in it, listen, love it, and learn. Isn't it true that successful crops always need a season for the soil to regenerate and not be sown? That being the case, in my barren season, I choose to flourish!

Using my CPM machine!!!