Hitting the bottom and crawling out . . .

taking pics in Yosemite

The images in this post are from a family trip to Yosemite we made a few weeks ago. We had to postpone it because I was so ill. I was thankful to eventually go and enjoy God’s beautiful creation with my loved ones.

***

It began with a sharp pain in my leg that I tried to ignore. (Isn’t that what mothers do?)

It wasn’t long before the pain grew so intense that I wanted to cry each morning as I hobbled out of bed.

After a few days of this inescapable torture, I realized it probably wasn’t a pulled muscle, like I’d originally thought.

My skin burned when my clothing brushed against it. My nerves felt like a hot, electric wire, and my foot went numb.

Something was really wrong.

I took to google (of course) and figured I must have sciatica. Hunting for relief, I found stretches that were supposed to help. Except I didn’t want to do them. I didn’t want to do anything.

It wasn’t long before I knew I was wrong, again.

I didn’t have sciatica, I had shingles.

What? Shingles! I thought only old people got shingles. Shingles was not even on my radar.

Waterfall in yosemite

I’ll spare you the gory details (just google it if you really want to know. But hey, that’s your call. You’ll probably wish you hadn’t).

The next ten days found me mostly in bed. My mother-in-law took the kids and let me sleep and rest. (She is amazing. I thank God for her. I really do.)

As I stared at the ceiling, I knew, I had let myself go too far. Stretched myself too thin, stressed myself too much.

And all while barely leaving the house.

Did you know you can do more than you really should in the comfort of your own home? Yep. It’s true. (I bet you knew that already.)

You don’t have to gallivant all over town and sign up for 101 things to over do. You can do that at your very own kitchen table.

So, come to find out, if you have ever had chickenpox, you can get shingles. It lives in your spine waiting for an opportunity to rear it’s ugly head.  However, it usually doesn’t manifest itself unless you have been extremely stressed or your immune system is low.

Leading up to this I had been stressed. I hate to even say it. What does that mean anyway?

But truly, I had been feeling so overwhelmed that my stomach was in knots every single day. It was as if I could feel the stress hormones shooting themselves into my system.

I knew I was struggling, but didn’t know what to do about it. I didn’t know how to stop the roller-coaster.

Well, shingles did that for me.

Ten days of bed rest will give you time to think. Pain has a way of getting your attention; I’ll tell you that.

When people ask me if I’m getting back to normal, my answer is, “No.”

I’m striving to find a new normal. One that involves rest and quiet spaces. A normal where I learn to let good things go in order to do the best things and accept that I don’t have to perfect to raise great kids, trusting God to make good of my humble efforts.

River at Yosemite

It’s hard for me to admit that I’ve struggled. I don’t want. But I know I need to.

I know that many of you struggle to, and you might not even realize quite how much you are struggling until one day you find yourself in bed too sick to move. I hope it doesn’t get to that point for you. But if it does, know there is another side.

You don’t have to fly out of the hole you are in. It’s okay to crawl. Just keep trying. And take time to rest along the way.

I’m so thankful for you who read this blog, for those who have reached out to me, and those who have prayed for me. I am so blessed.

If nothing else, I want you to learn from my mistakes. To know that you can’t keep going and going and pushing and striving. You have got to rest. There is only one of you and one person can only do so much.

Yes, one person can do many great things. But you don’t have to do all of them today.

-Stacy

 

Raising Healthy Families: Healthier Frozen Treats for the Whole Family!

raising healthy families

Welcome Back to the Raising Healthy Family Series!

In this final installment, Kelly at The Nourishing Home is sharing a healthy way to beat the heat of summer without compromising good nutrition.

raising healthy families

Making your own homemade ice pops and frozen treats is so easy and it’s fun too! And best of all, you’ll feel good knowing that your family is enjoying a healthy boost of wholesome nutrients in each and every yummy bite!

So be sure to join Kelly at The Nourishing Home as she helps us celebrate summer with some delicious and nutritious real food frozen treats certain to bring a smile to your kids faces, while keeping the ice cream man at bay!

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clothdiapercover

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Ever wished motherhood came with a manual? Here are 35 resources to help! {Natural Mothering eBook Bundle}

teaching kids to clean

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Delightful Links for the Weekend

natural-mothering-bundle-600x400-sale

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Raising Healthy Families: Raising Real Food Kids

Welcome back to the Raising Healthy Families series – a fun and informative series designed to help you and your family thrive! Join us each Friday as we take a look at different ways to keep your family healthy and vibrant in a not-so-healthy world!     Written by Emily McClements of Live Renewed As [...]

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How to Make Dried Lavender Pots

how to make dried lavender pots

If you haven’t guessed, I like lavender. I like the way it smells, I like the way it looks. Lavender is a wonderful herb for treating many ailments. It dries easily and stays beautiful for a long time. Making it perfect for indoor decorating. It’s rustic look adds a pleasant, homey style to any room [...]

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10 Uses for Peppermint Essential Oil {& a Giveaway}

The following is a guest post from Krissa of More Than Mundane Peppermint essential oil is one of my go-to oils and a must for every home medicine cabinet. It is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and invigorating. It has been used for centuries to soothe digestive difficulties and headaches. The aroma is stimulating and may help [...]

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Raising Healthy Families: Homemade Tea Recipes

Welcome back to the Raising Healthy Families series. Each week we tackle on aspect of living healthy in a not-so-healthy world. Today’s post is from Andrea of The Greenbacks Gal. Over the last 50 years, we’ve had a major shift in the American diet. We’re now consuming more of our calories by drinking them. In [...]

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