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Day 9: Nurturing Your Inner Child
What does it mean to nurture your inner child? For me, it means learning to give myself some of the things I may have needed when I was younger—and recognizing that the little girl I once was is still a part of who I am today. Sometimes we grow up and become so focused on being strong, responsible, dependable, and there for everyone else that we forget about the little person inside of us who also needs love, attention, comfort, and reassurance. Nurturing my inner child means giving myself permission... Read more...
Day 8: It Is Well
Today, we said goodbye to my brother-in-law's mother. As I sat through her homegoing celebration, I couldn't help but think about one thing she would say, no matter what life brought her way: “It is well.” Those three words carried so much meaning. It wasn't that life was always easy for her. It wasn't that she never experienced disappointment, heartache, loss, or difficult seasons. She simply believed that whatever storm she was facing, it would eventually pass. It would be well. I've been thinking about those words ever since. Because... Read more...
Selah For a Funeral
Sometimes life asks us to pause. Yesterday, I didn't write. I was packing for a trip from New Jersey to Baltimore to attend my brother-in-law's mother's homegoing celebration. But this trip is also giving me something I didn't realize I needed—a little more time with my 86-year-old mom. I'm traveling with her and helping take care of her along the way. And as I think about it, something about it touches my soul. My mom spent so many years taking care of me. She was there when I needed her,... Read more...
Day 6: Self-Love Isn't Selfish
Good morning. This post was supposed to come yesterday evening. But it didn't. And I have to admit, I felt guilty about that. I've been sharing my journey one day at a time, and when yesterday came and I didn't post, I immediately started thinking about what I should have done. I should have made time. I should have written something. I should have kept my promise to myself. But the truth is, I was helping a friend. And yesterday, that was where I needed to be. So this morning,... Read more...
Day 5: What Self-Love Looks Like Today
After sharing some of my story over the last few days, I've been thinking about what self-love actually means to me today. Not what it looked like years ago. Not what I thought it was supposed to look like. But what it looks like right now. And you know what I've realized? Sometimes self-love looks surprisingly ordinary. For me, today, self-love means making my doctor's appointments—and keeping them. It means putting my health on the calendar and treating those appointments like they matter. Because they do. I do. Taking Care... Read more...
Day 4: When My Body Finally Said, "Enough"
Nathan wasn't much of a sleeper. So neither was I. I kept going. Work. School. Motherhood. Repeat. I was running on little to no sleep, but I kept telling myself that I had to keep moving. There was a baby who needed me. There was work that needed to be done. There was schoolwork that needed to be finished. So I kept pushing. I was exhausted from caring for this baby all by myself, but somehow I convinced myself that exhaustion was just part of being a mom. I didn't... Read more...
Day 3: Selah — Give Yourself Permission to Pause
Today was supposed to be Day 3. I had already been thinking about what I should write next. I felt like I needed to keep going, keep producing, keep following the story that had already been written. And then I realized something. I was stressing myself out. I was putting pressure on myself to produce. To perform. To keep up. To have the next thing ready because I had decided that was what I should be doing. And isn't that exactly what we do sometimes? We create a list of... Read more...
Day 2: Surviving Isn't The Same As Healing
When I finally came home, I had my beautiful baby boy in my arms. I had survived. I should have felt nothing but joy. And honestly, in many ways, I did. I felt like someone who had escaped death and been given the most precious gift imaginable. But underneath that joy, I was scared. I felt alone with the responsibility of this tiny human who now depended on me for everything. For most of my life, I had been responsible for myself. I worried about myself. I made decisions for... Read more...
Today
Today, I Choose Me Let's start with today. Today, I love myself first—right after God. I know that I am beautifully and wonderfully made, and I finally understand that loving myself isn't selfish. It's necessary. Once I made the decision to truly love and take care of myself, something began to change. I started healing from things I had carried for years. And as I healed, I became a better version of myself—not just for me, but for the people I love. I became a better mom, companion, daughter, sister,... Read more...