Everything is Going to be Alright

A few years ago, I was in a bit of a panic.  I couldn’t get hold of my cousin, who was going through a bit of a challenging time.  I was concerned that something had happened to her.  I called my uncle as I knew he had been in contact with her recently.  He is known to be a wise old soul, and he told me not to expect that something bad had happened.  Everything will be alright. It turned out she was ok, and had just had an issue with her phone.  There really was no need to worry.  My uncle had planted a seed.

The past two months have been quite challenging for me.  Our department at work went through another restructure 10 months after the last one.  I, once again, received a section 189 letter informing me that my role had changed significantly and I would therefore need to reapply for it.  There was a possibility that I could be retrenched.  I was once again anxious, but this time it only lasted for a week or two.  I got anxious because I have been a terrible interviewee in the past and dreaded going through it all over again.  I called a friend who is known to be the best interviewee in the team and asked for her help.  I felt a lot calmer after sitting with her and focused on what was in my control.  Certain events happened in the company that resulted in me not having to reapply for the job.  I believe that was God working in my favour and in the favour of a few other colleagues who had also faced losing their jobs and were now safe.  In fact, the outcome was better than I could have predicted.

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Another source of anxiety for me was my son’s eighteenth birthday. For whatever reason,  I was desperate for him to have a really good day. Once again, I focused on what was in my control, and everything else just fell into place.  He had a fantastic day!  I had focused on getting one event right that day, but God had bigger plans, and he ensured that my son’s entire day was amazing.  I was so happy for him and so very grateful to God for making it happen.

Since then, I have noticed a few other occasions or situations where everything has just fallen into place, especially when I just focus on what’s in my control.  There is really nothing to worry about, whether we want to believe it or not,  everything will be alright.  It often turns out to be better than you had envisioned.   My wise old uncle was right. 

Are you a bit of a worrywart, or have you learned to trust that everything will be okay?  What made you start believing that things will always work out? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for reading.  Bye for now.

“The trouble is that you think you have time.”— Jack Kornfield

Daily writing prompt
Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.

Oh Dear Gentle Readers, where shall I start! And yes, I just watched the first four episodes of S4 of Bridgerton. (Have you watched it? What did you think?) One of the distractions that I allow in my life 🙂

Let’s see…there are three items on my to-do list that I allow myself to be pulled away from:

Video: Canva

1. My Garden

I long to have a beautiful little well planned garden that has splashes of colour throughout the year. This takes time and research which I just have not made the time to do. I have a garden but it is a very green garden with very few colourful flowers. I am very inspired by two of my neighbours’ gardens. I am determined that this is the year that I get that planning and planting done!

2. Writing That Book

I know, this one is on a lot of people’s lists. I started this blog to gain confidence in my writing, which I have, but I still can’t get passed the first page or two of a book. I have no idea when that will happen.

3. Starting my business

This one is probably the most urgent of the three but still I have not lifted a finger. I have even listed it last. ´The reality is that it takes time and effort, which I still have not committed to internally. I guess I will get there when I get there. I need to work at becoming a morning person because I am way too tired in the evening to much done.

Of course as Jack Kornfield says, I think I have time but time is moving on anyway. What’s it gonna take to get yourself moving Michelle??? With any luck, I will have a great story to share by the end of the year.

Thanks for popping by.

Bye for now!

Goodbye 52! A Game-Changer of a Year That Almost Broke Me

It’s the start of my personal new year tomorrow.  I turn 53 on the 7th.   Yip, that is quite a daunting number, but I still maintain that my 50s will be my best decade yet! The “yet” part is very important in that sentence.  I believe that each decade thereafter will be even better than my 50s.  This really helps me look past the number and just be grateful and proud that I have reached it. 🙂  

52 has been the year that nearly broke me, but by God’s Grace, I am still standing and excited about 53.  That’s because it wasn’t all bad. 

Here are my top 5 highlights of 52:

  1. My son was made a school prefect.  It was a great example of how he set himself a goal and did what he needed to do to achieve it.
  2. My son received a subject award for his favourite subject for the second year in a row.
  3. I pushed through my fear and appeared on morning TV twice to do a product promotion.
  4. I learned to ask God different questions to understand what I needed to change to stop certain things from happening in my life, and I did get some answers.  They were definitely not revealed in the way I anticipated.  In all honesty, I also didn’t know how He would answer, but the way He did just wasn’t what I was expecting. 😅
  5. My team at work did me proud with the way they showed up this year.  We had a tough year, but they brought their A-game every day!  I am so proud of them. 

Oh, and a bonus one- I found a new mystery and suspense thriller author.  Her name is Stacy Green, and I am currently reading her Nikki Hunt series. You know you are enjoying a book when you are late to work because you lost track of time while reading. 😂

The lower lights…sigh. 

While I will only mention two, the reality is that these experiences ran back-to-back and spanned over a six month period. 

  1. Going through the process of reapplying for your job.  The stress was worse than I imagined.  I thought I would be ok but nothing quite prepares you for it.
  2. Getting in my own way time and time again. Then God showed me that this is what I had to stop doing.  Sadly, I had to witness someone else doing it to understand my own actions.  It was painful to watch, but now I am aware of how I create my own pain.
  3. There was a third experience. I won’t talk about it except to say that it reinforced my belief… No weapon formed against me shall prosper. God has got my back all the time. 

At the end of it, I am so grateful to have made it thus far.  I am thankful that my son and I had a roof over our heads, food on our table, clothes on our backs, a reliable car to get us from A to B and love in our home.  I had friends, family, and colleagues to support me through it all. Most importantly, I had God going before me every day. 

Photo by Anna Bratiychuk on Unsplash

So cheers to 52. 🥂 Thank you for the lessons and love.  Welcome 53!  Show me what you got! 💃🏽