Last week we introduced you to our heart and thoughts on
what it means to be balanced in body and how we intend to make this our focus
on the blog every Thursday. This week we thought we would take a realistic look
at one of the many ways this area can become one huge balancing act for us as
women…
Transition.
The word in and of itself is filled with tension.
It’s a loaded word and it can mean something completely
different for all of us.
But despite the circumstances surrounding each individual
transition, there are always a few universal guarantees that come with the
territory.
Transition causes stress.
Transition causes confusion.
Transition causes growth.
It is one of those inevitable parts of life. Sometimes it is
planned, and other times it comes whirling through like an unexpected tornado,
but in either case, it upheaves you.
Another tense word.
What I am trying to say is that transition suddenly and
violently disrupts everything. It throws you off of your schedules and out of
routines. It forces you to find and create new normals and patterns and
sometimes to adjust to new locations and climates and environments and people.
Transition is equal to change. Maybe welcomed changes or maybe unwelcomed, but
either way you can’t avoid a complete rebalancing act whenever you walk through
transition.
But here is the truth about transition.
Here is the truth about that upheaving and all of the
disruption and change.
There are two ways it can affect you, and you get to choose
which one it will be.
It can be just like it sounds, awful, destructive, and damaging. You can let it knock you off your feet and leave you down for a while, not
wanting to face the reality that is picking yourself up, adapting to, and embracing your new surroundings. You can stay mad and confused and angry
and always wishing for things to go back to the way they were…
You can give yourself a second to lay in bed flat on your
back (or curled up in a ball…whichever you prefer) and
cry your eyes out before standing up, brushing off the dust, and taking a look
around to see what you have to work with here in this place. This place you
have arrived in following the transition. You can decide that of all the places
your feet could have landed after such a turbulent patch of time, there must be
some reason they are here and so you might as well get on with it and figure
out what there is to be done and discovered here.
I am currently at that little point on the map where the
road splits in two. I just walked that road of transition... again, and I have arrived in that moment
when I can choose how I will let the transition change me.
I am going to be honest.
Writing a post on being “Balanced in Body” right now for me
seems a little ridiculous.
Because right now I am not balanced in the least. I am not quite
lying flat on my back anymore, but I am just now slowly starting to stand up
and take in my surroundings and circumstances, assessing the new challenges
and obstacles that are going to be present in this place. I am just beginning
to brush off the dust and to stop wishing for everything behind and starting to embrace here for exactly what it is.
And this is a struggle for me.
This is a struggle for my pride.
All I can seem to remember is the very “together” version of
myself. A nanny, a church planter, a friend, a writer, a roommate, a coffee
connoisseur, and adventure and experience seeker in my spare times (which I felt
like I had a healthy amount of).
Honestly. These days, I wake up wondering when or if I can
find time to take a nap that day and if it would be worth it anyways. Maybe I
should just marathon through the day and sleep early? Often times I feel like I
am drowning as a new teacher trying to navigate lesson planning and three
year-olds-from three completely different cultures speaking three (or more)
different languages all squeezed into my very tiny classroom attempting to
learn something. And not to mention figuring out their parents and my new
leadership and the Mexican education system fitting into an “American” school
setting. And that’s just my job! Then there is trying to make friends in this
brand new place while I feel totally unlike myself and really all I ever want
to do is sleep and or cry. Trying to activate bank cards and budgets on a
different monetary system and bus routes and oh, finding a church. Trying to
eat clean and work out…yikes. It just all seems like too much.
Truthfully, I thought I would be so much better at this.
I thought I could handle it all.
I thought I would love every moment of this.
So far, that is not the case. So far, this is really hard.
And I keep thinking back and wondering how I somehow managed to balance it all
back there. Was I different? Am I different here?
Not yet.
But if I make the right choice, I will be.
If I choose to let this place, this season, this transition, change me the way it is meant to, I will come out a different version of
myself. A better version.
I must choose that. I must choose to embrace all of it.
So while I cannot very well sit here and tell you that I
have found the secret to being balanced in body, I can tell you what steps I am
taking to find that balance in my life again.
I am trying to be gracious with myself as Jesus is gracious with me. I am accepting one at a time my limitations and weaknesses and giving them to Jesus so that He can show Himself strong and capable where I am not. I am accepting what gets accomplished each day and giving the rest to Him for another day
Yes. There was a time when I was training for half marathons
and spending every evening at the gym and only buying fresh, whole foods. But
that is not here. I am starting to accept that and to do my very best with what
I have instead of giving up because behind seems so much better. Mostly healthy
is better than not at all, some exercise is better than none. We have to start
somewhere. Give yourself a chance to get going.
I am trying to not compare myself here to myself behind. I
am trying to also not compare challenges or situations or circumstances in this
season to any other. I am trying to treat here as its own unique place and to
embrace it for everything it is, and recollect and remind myself that if I keep running
around like a chicken with my head cut off, I will never rebalance. Better to
zone in on one or two things and stay healthy and vibrant than to move on half-heartedly
in a zillion directions
*This has become my evening treat, but one that I can enjoy guilt free while trying to stick within some healthy boundaries. This is the perfect amount of sweet to beat the crave for me!
Dark Chocolate
Smoothie
½ banana
½ - 1 cup Silk Original Unsweetened Almond Milk (or whatever
your preference in milk might be. I like to keep it low on unnatural sugars and
add some protein. Also add according to your preference in thickness)
4-5 ice cubes
1 tbs almond butter (or peanut butter if you would rather)
2 (generous) tbs Hershey’s 100% CoCoa (I like a really dark
chocolate-y taste)
ABOUT RACHEL
I am a preschool teacher at a Christian school in Guadalajara, Mexico. I love hot air balloons, fresh flowers, and finding the beauty in the simple, everyday things. I desire to obey Jesus in all things and follow wherever His grand adventure leads! Life with Him is the very best kind!
Connect with Rachel on Instagram (@zuva17).
This is real life! Thanks for sharing Rachel!
ReplyDeleteYes! It's right where I am in my life. It need to constantly be reminded to be gracious with myself. Its easy for me to be hard on myself and to concentrate on what I feel like I'm doing wrong.
ReplyDeletehaha YES for me it is a pride thing. Constantly having to recognize my weaknesses and short comings....but I guess the difference is seeing those as opportunities for God to be bigger and to work more instead of just beating ourselves up over them. That's the mental struggle haha Tiring. Like I said...I drink a LOT of those chocolate smoothies these days.
DeleteI'm right there with you! Literally. ;) Thanks for sharing; having just a few practical steps gives my brain something to focus on.
ReplyDeleteAh! Glad to hear it. BELIEVE me when I say...I am honestly walking this as we speak haha The daily practical living it out can be so draining and exhausting...but I realize that's also because I keep trying to do it on my own rather than trusting God. Anyways. Glad it was relatable. Also..the chocolate smoothies help haha
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