Wednesday, January 13, 2016

healthy start?



After a lovely time at a New Year's Eve party, I left the party pretty shortly after midnight, excited to go to bed and wake up to the new and healthy Julie in 2016.

Cut to me waking up with a cough, a stuffy nose and one of the worst colds I can remember having. It was one of those coughing from your toes kind of cold. This was upsetting for many reasons. First, colds are no fun. Second, I was a bit worried because I was set to preach on the Third and was panicked I would not be healthy enough to not just give the sermon but even be healthy enough to make it out of bed. And finally, I was upset because this was a crummy way to begin my new healthy year I have been planning for.  

I am now on the other side of my cold and am feeling myself again (whew!) and I have had a chance to reflect and think about my year thus far. And while I was not healthy for the beginning of the year, I also had a lot of chance to rest, to read, to spend sometime thinking, praying, relaxing and writting in my journal. I slowed down. I napped. I spent hours at a time sitting in my big comfy red chair reading a good book and taking care of myself. After the hectic month of December, I was relaxing and letting my body and mind and soul take a deep breath. Yes I was coughing and not at my healthiest but I was slowly getting better each day and learning to crave those moments of self care and reflection. 

So while I could leave the cold behind, I am thankful for a time to slow my pace and enjoy some time to unwind and be quiet and still. As I am recovering from my cold and getting back into the business of my week and schedule I am finding myself hoping to find a time each day to be still and quiet again. Perhaps this was just the start I needed to my new year, so I will take it and be thankful.