Why do we judge each other based on what we see on the outside? We have no idea what is going on inside, we have no idea what has happened to that person before coming in contact with us and yet we take one look and think we do know.
I have been guilty of it. When I first met Walter, my husband, he was coming in to interview for a landscaping job. He was meeting with the General Manager as he walked by my office. In my mind when you come to an interview you always put forward your best self. You do your hair, put on your best outfit in order to make a good impression. However, he came in with ripped jeans and a t-shirt that had a psychotic happy face on it which said have a psychotic day. He was also wearing a worn baseball cap over disheveled long hair that went to his waist. When he was hired I was shocked and the General Manager said to me that I should not judge a book by its cover. You see, what I did not know was that he had come dressed to work, he was hoping that he would be hired on the spot and could go out to site immediately. I did not know this, there was no way I could've. It challenges me to think back to all of the times I may have written someone off because of their looks, their clothes and missed an opportunity to meet someone who was amazing. I had to put away my judgements in order to see who Walter really was and as I got to know him I realized how amazing he is and I am blessed that he married me. This also brought up into my mind the other opportunities I miss. If I am focused on my life issues or my problems I sometimes forget there is a whole world of people out there that have issues and problems too. I sometimes miss opportunities to possibly help them by sharing what I am going through and how I get from one day to the next. Instead, I stop posting and squirrel myself away in my little cocoon to focus on me and get everything squared away with me so I can go back to normal. I need to break this bad habit. It is in the times when we are struggling that I think we can help others the most. We all face times that are hard which cause us grief and increase our level of anxiety, yet many of us refrain from talking about it thinking that it makes us look weak or diminished in some way. In all honesty, people who can share about their struggles are actually courageous and I admire that courage in them. I stopped posting when we were staging our house because I was overwhelmed. Then once we sold it we had to pack and move, then unpack. We were also evacuated due to fires and we had health issues we were also facing. Once we got settled in I made a plan, but realized I forgot to consider that our family would want to spend time with us and with COVID it was interesting meeting a bit of family here and there. The next thing you know it is Christmas and we are swamped with everything Christmas. Then in January, I became ill, COVID chest cold and sinus infection all in one. NOT FUN! I could have taken the time to post, but because I felt overwhelmed and was so focused on me being in a better place I didn't. All of these things made me anxious and concerned about what the future would hold. I have realized I need more tools in my tool belt when dealing with anxiety and I am so excited about a webinar coming up that will help me. If this speaks to you, I encourage you to join me by clicking the link below. I am hoping that by planting seeds of hope I will be able to walk through my future struggles with you and who knows it may just help someone else. https://www.noonestandsalone.net/events-1/seeds-of-hope-webinar
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Today is March 1, which means spring is on its way. I am looking forward to my first spring back in Alberta. It will be amazing to see the green grass return, the flowers begin to bloom and the birds come back to their northern homes.
Every season has a purpose. Spring for me has always been about hope for me. Hope for the future, hope for the rest of the upcoming year, hope for things that seemed lost to be found again and revived, like dreams. In the past couple of months, I have been struggling with some significant health issues and I must admit I had a bleak outlook throughout it. The one thing that kept me going was hope. Hope that I would get better, hope that life would return to normal and I could get back to my routine. The great thing is it happened! What happens when our hopes are dashed and we are overwhelmed? Do we let anxieties and worry set in as we think of the future? I want to encourage you, if you find yourself a bit short of hope lately, there is a webinar coming up that can help bring your hope back. I am going, because let's face it even if I am in a good place right now there will be more times in my future when I will struggle in the hope department and I can always use more tools to keep hope alive in my life. I would love it if you would join me March 3 at 7pm, click the link below to RSVP. I am really looking forward to it! Hope to see you there! https://www.noonestandsalone.net/events-1/seeds-of-hope-webinar It is so nice to be back to normal. After being sick for over a month, it is great to have energy again. During my time of solitude and getting better, I have had much time to think about everything happening in our world. There are so many things that seem uncertain about the future and the more uncertain the more anxiety.
Do you feel bogged down with anxiety? That feeling in your gut which doesn't go away and constant worrying about the future. No matter what degree of anxiety you feel, weather occasional or anxiety that consumes every part of your life there is hope. I will be attending a webinar coming up on March 3, 2022 which will provide strategies for these mounting anxieties in our lives. I would love to see you there, feel free to click the link to RSVP. https://www.noonestandsalone.net/events-1/seeds-of-hope-webinar It is amazing how when God starts moving in our lives in astounding ways that everything starts to feel new! Every day can feel like this but I think we get so worn down by the world sometimes that we forget. We get caught up in the routine of everyday life and miss the wonder, the adventure, the new!
I am learning each day how to find the wonder. I am not perfect at this, some days I am not even good at it, but like everything else in life it takes practice. I will continue to work on this muscle until it becomes muscle memory, waking up ready for the new, ready for the adventure, ready for the wonder. Each day it gets easier with the practice, the secret is not to give up when it gets hard. When we worry all we do is allow our focus to be solely on the problem before us. By lifting it up to God we allow God to focus on it so we can focus on everything else in our lives. |
Connie BlackwoodJoin me on my journey through life's joys and difficulties. Archives
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