Tag Archives: Joy

Feb 22

Mindset is Everything

I’ve been trying to do this blog weekly, but I’m finding it may end up being less, probably every other week or even once a month. Sometimes there just isn’t much to share, and I’m busy doing other blogs and writing as well.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve had several sunny days and beautiful blue skies. We’ve also had rain, ice and more snow. The weather seems to be stuck in a pattern with a warm-up and lots of melting, followed by ice, snow, and then the melting returns with another warm-up. As I write this, we are in the middle of a warning for up to 2 feet of snow by later this week. A couple of days ago, most of it had melted and it was 40 degrees outside.

Physical and Occupational Therapy

If you’ve followed this blog for awhile, you’ll know I used to give regular PT and OT updates since we were in an auto accident in 2020, but as I’ve improved, I don’t share updates as often. Although I haven’t been in outpatient PT or OT for a while now, I still try to do the exercises regularly. One side is weaker than the other, and the exercises help build strength and regain my balance. I hit a milestone recently, when I was finally able to bend over to put my hands flat on the floor again. Before the accident, I could do this with my legs together and straight. Now, I had to do it with my legs spread apart a little, but I was still able to do it. I may never fully regain 100% of where I was before, but I am still determined to regain as much as I can.

My wrists still get irritated with a lot of use, especially the left one. The break on that side was a lot worse than the other. I’ve learned to go in spurts, taking frequent breaks to relieve any pain and tension that builds up.

Mindset Is Everything

Sometimes life gets hard. We go through things that don’t always make sense. Life has so many struggles, so many ups and downs. We can’t always control what happens to us. But we can choose what we focus on. Our mindset has such a huge impact on what we face.

The past few years have not been easy for us. Sometimes it seems like a rollercoaster, as though there’s a rough ride up, a thrilling ride down, and then twists and turns that leave you wondering what could possibly be around the next bend. It’s not always easy to see the positive, or find joy when live goes around the crazy turns.

But mindset is everything. As a Christian, I often find myself drawn back to the scripture, and verses like Colossians 3:2, Isaiah 43:18, 2 Corinthians 4:16, and John 14:1. It’s easy to let myself get stuck on what has happened around me and worry about what will happen next. It’s much harder to walk in faith, knowing that eventually all of this will work together for our good.

This winter has been odd. We live in the snow belt and normally get a lot of snow. We’ve had lots, but it melts quickly, then we get ice, then more snow on top of that. It’s been a long winter. It used to be one of my favorite seasons, but since the accident, it’s been hard to find joy in winter.

And yet… mindset is everything. I’ve been trying to focus on the positive, to find beauty even in a very long, strange winter. I haven’t been disappointed. When I started shifting my mindset from “this winter is awful” to “there is beauty in this winter,” I started finding it all around me. I think the photos I’ve taken the past few weeks can say more than words could.

Photo Dump:

Until next time,

Cindy

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Jan 29

Take Your Eyes Off the Problem

Challenger Anniversary

This past week was the 37th anniversary of the Challenger explosion.  I was a child when the explosion happened, but I still remember it well.  The photo I’ve shared was taken at the Air Zoo Museum down near Portage MI.  My parents, Ben and I all went on a trip there a few years ago, and I found myself drawn to their exhibit.  As a young child, astronaut had been near the top of my career choices.  I admired Christa McAuliffe because she was a teacher and an astronaut, two of my top career choices.  I remember feeling great sadness the day she died, even though I’d never actually met her. 

Time is such a funny thing.  In some ways, it still feels like the Challenger explosion happened yesterday, and in other ways, it feels like it happened a lifetime ago.  So many big events in life seem to be that way. 

Exercise and a Little Sunshine

With winter in full swing, it’s been difficult to get outside to exercise in the way I like to.  I’ve been finding our basset hound puppy is great exercise, especially because she loves to play tug-of-war and will play with me as I walk.  We have so much fun, and it’s been a great way to get energy out for both of us, me walking the house with her pulling on a toy as I walk.  It’s also a really great way to strengthen my muscles.  She weighs over 50 lbs and is a very strong dog.

It’s been nice to see a little sunshine too.  The clouds have been hanging on, with very little sun this winter.  We’ve had a few days where the sun peeked out for a short time.  It’s bitter cold outside, but beautiful at the same time. 

Take Your Eyes Off The Problem

This week, one of our dogs got the tie-out she was on wrapped around a tree.  Our yard is not fenced in, so we either walk the dogs on a leash or let them out on a tie-out if they want out.  Our basset hound puppy is learning how not to get tangeled around trees outside, but this week, she found herself wrapped around one with the tie-out.

Around and around she went, trying to make the problem better, but it just made it worse.  I tried to help her, but she still kept going the wrong way as she tried to solve the problem herself.  Finally, I went inside and brought out a treat.  It took her eyes off the problem for a moment.  Carefully, I led her round and round the tree, keeping her eyes on the treat as we slowly got her untangled.  Once she was free, she ran excitedly back to the house. 

After I thought about this situation later, I realized the problem was solved when she took her eyes off it.  It reminded me of our own lives.  Too often, I focus on a problem.  I want to get unstuck from something, so I go round and round until I find myself tangled up even worse than I was to begin with.  It’s only when I take my eyes off my problems and focus on where God is leading me that I can get unstuck. 

People have often told me they don’t understand how I’ve handled things as well as I have with everything going on.  It’s not that I don’t have bad days, I do.  It’s that I keep coming back to the One who can truly handle my problems, the One who has the solution.  So even on the really tough days, when I’m hurting, or frustrated and just don’t know what to do next, I can lean on the fact that my Father in Heaven knows exactly what to do, even if I can’t see it.  It’s trusting in that that is hard.  Sometimes it feels like it’s easier to just keep trying on my own, keep going around and around and maybe one of these times I’ll get it right and things will go like they should.  But they don’t.  It’s not until I take my eyes off the problems and focus on the One who can truly guide me in the right direction that things begin to turn around.  It’s easier said than done.  On the really bad days, it’s hard to remember that there’s a God in charge of the situation no matter what I’m facing.  But when I take my eyes off the problem, I truly am set free. 

Mar 10

A Little Joy

Physical/Occupational Therapy and Recovery

It is hard to believe it’s been almost a month since I was in the hospital again. You can read a little about it here: https://talesfromnorthcountry.com/2022/02/14/its-not-always-about-us/. I ended up spending five days in the hospital. They found I had cellulitis, caused by a staph infection in my thigh and near my hip. We were afraid it had gone into the hip joint, and that I could be septic, but thankfully we caught it in time. After a lot of tests and nearly a week in the hospital with IV antibiotics, I was released with antibiotics to recover at home.

The infection has been slowly healing. I still have some soreness, discoloration, and a lot of itching, but that has been slowly getting better as well. I haven’t done a lot for physical therapy over the past few weeks as the leg heals but have tried to do a few at home as long as the pain is tolerable.

Occupational therapy continues to be everyday tasks at home. With the infection, I was pretty sick at first, but have been able to do a little bit more as I start to get better and stronger again. I still have some soreness from the November surgery, but it has gotten a lot better than it was. All of the trauma and surgeries have taken a toll on my body, and I’m just run down. 7 surgeries, at least 11 broken bones, and internal damage is a lot to recover from.

Songs on Repeat

Goodness of God by Bethel

House of the Lord by Phil Wickham

Here I am To Worship by Hillsong

Scripture and Quotes

A Little Joy

Towards the end of February, we added a new addition to our family. Meet Annie. She is a basset hound puppy. Her name means “grace” or ““God has favored me.”

Almost two years ago, I graduated with my second Master’s degree in the midst of the Covid Pandemic. The one thing I really wanted as a gift was a puppy. We searched shelters and many different sites, trying to find one, but people were grabbing up puppies as fast as they arrived. Both of our other dogs are rescues, and they were a little older when we got them. Still in the puppy stage, but halfway through it, so we wanted a younger dog this time around.

Then the accident happened, and everything got put off. After almost a year and a half of searching and waiting, we finally were able to find someone who had puppies. We went on the waiting list, and were finally able to get a puppy in February.

Annie has brought a lot of joy into our lives in the couple of weeks we’ve had her. A few photos…

Life is full of ups and downs, and she’s added lots of laughter and happiness during some very difficult times in our lives. Before the November surgery, I was hiking regularly and getting stronger with physical therapy. Since the surgery, it has been a long recovery. My body is just worn down, and I’ve only been out snowshoeing once all winter, before the infection and hospital stay.

I am hoping as my body begins to recover more, I will be able to take Annie and our two other dogs out for hikes. Not all at once of course, unless I have someone else with me willing to take a dog, but it will be good to get out again. I’ve missed it! I am hoping with surgery behind me, and the infection healing, I will finally be able to get back to getting stronger and feeling better again. It’s been a long journey! I’m so very thankful for the little joys in life, like sweet puppy snuggles, the kind words of a friend through a card, and beautiful sunrises despite the winter cold. Life moves forward, even in difficult times, and finding the little pieces of joy, no matter how small, makes the dark times a little easier.

Mar 4

Collateral Beauty and Finding Joy in Pain

First the updates on physical therapy and occupuational therapy:

Occupational Therapy:

I have continued to make improvements. Sometimes it feels very small, but they add up and my left wrist has come so very far!

February 26th
Today

Physical Therapy:

Today I got the all clear to begin walking with a cane. As I transition from the walker to a cane, I will be going back and forth between the two, depending on my pain and energy level that day. I have made a lot of progress in a short time, but I’m also listening to my body, and some days, I just need to take a break.

Songs:

From my mom….

Others to focus on…

Bible Verses:

From my mom…

Others to focus on…

On Collateral Beauty and Joy

I came across a #speaklife post on TobyMac’s Facebook page today that really stood out to me. You can find it here:

https://www.facebook.com/tobymac/photos/a.241173571178/10157853493436179/

This quote really stood out to me. In December, my life changed forever. Certainly, I never would have thought I’d be facing so many injuries and challenges in the days ahead so quickly. But this is the story I’m in. This is what I’ve living day to day. Yet there is much joy among these challenges, even among the pain.

I’ve been thinking about the movie Collateral Beauty. It came out in 2016, staring Will Smith and Keira Knightley. Ben and I saw it in the theater. One thing that really stood out to me in this movie is the idea that even in great pain, there is beauty. The movie refers to this as “Collateral Beauty.” Collateral has several definitions, but one of them is defined as additional but subordinate; secondary. Secondary beauty. Beauty that wasn’t first choice, or something you even wanted to have happen, but beauty nonetheless.

Near the end of the movie, one of the characters says “Just make sure you notice the Collateral Beauty.” Since watching this movie, I’ve thought about the phrase ‘Collateral Beauty’ often. Collateral beauty involves the little things people do and say in the really tough times, like sending care packages and kind messages. It’s a butterfly flittering across the grass and into the sky the day after a storm has come through, and a neighbor helping someone clean up their yard when a tree falls. Sure, we might prefer that the accident never happen, the storm never come or the tree never fall, but there is so much beauty, so much good that can come of it.

If I had a choice in all of this, I would have chosen to not be in a wreck in the first place. That would have been best case scenario in my mind at least, to be whole and not broken from a wreck. But if this was the case, I wouldn’t have had all the good things in between, the kind words, the care packages, meals, and so many other ways people have helped out. Honestly, there has been more “Collateral Beauty” in all of this, than there ever would have been beauty had I been able to choose not to be in an accident. I think the more difficult the experience, the more beauty can be found. Don’t get me wrong. It doesn’t mean any of this has been easy or that I don’t have days that are rough. But even in that, there is beauty.

With finding that beauty, comes joy. Joy isn’t just about being happy. It is both a verb and a noun, so while it means ‘a feeling of great pleasure and happiness,’ it is also a verb meaning ‘rejoice.’ Looking for collateral beauty in our darkest moments can help us to find joy. We can rejoice, or show great delight even in tough situations because we see the beauty that is there too.

My faith helps me a lot in this. As a Christian, I believe that everything happens for a reason, and that God can and will work all things together for our good, even the bad things. The good isn’t always easy to see though. In dark moments, when the world seems so unfair and so very tough, it’s hard to look for the good. It’s hard to find joy in the Collateral Beauty around us. Our world wasn’t meant to be this way. It isn’t how it was created to be, isn’t how things were supposed to be and we know it. Collateral Beauty is second beauty precisely because it isn’t how the world was created to be. It’s beauty despite what has gone wrong, joy even in the darkest of moments.

When God works things together for our good, sometimes we don’t see right away. Sometimes it’s years down the road that we realize how He took a situation and turned it for our good. Other times, we can see right away, but I think more often than not, especially in very difficult situations, it’s not until years down the line, or perhaps not even this side of Heaven that we understand how God worked things together for our good. But we don’t always need to understand something to see the beauty in it. Joy is all around us, even in the toughest of times. It’s a gift, this collateral beauty that surrounds even the darkest of times. Sometimes we just have to look for it, but the light that comes from joy and collateral beauty will always outshine the darkness.