Hello dear friends,
It has been a few days (a week or so) since I have popped in. I am sorry to admit I haven't visited many of you dear friends either. I do pray that I can soon. I am in a strange place in my life at the moment and I am trying to learn, grow, and gently accept once again a SHIFT in my SEASON of LIFE.
I often feel that my seasons change as soon as I get used to one. I often fall back to the title of my blog. One Season to the Next! I know there is a reason the Lord put that on my heart to name my blog years ago as I seem to always flow from one "season" to the next often. :)
Seasons of life are really fickle, aren't they? I mean as soon as you feel you have it all together the rug is pulled and we are heading a different direction. This is life, I suppose. I know one thing it keeps it interesting. That is how I am choosing to look at it. :)
To fill you in, as mentioned a few posts back I needed a little "breakaroo" from blogging. I had faithfully written a post daily almost all of May, June, and July. I love blogging. I love visiting you all and I love posting, writing, and sharing my life. It is like writing a letter to good friends and hoping everyone reads the letter. :) I love visiting you all too. I feel like it is reading a letter you are writing to me. Your recipes, reading about your days, seeing your pictures and family moments are so special. I love the blogging community. I am glad to just be posting as I feel led to at this time.
I am so blessed by you all. Thank you all for your sweet congratulations for our daughter's engagement. It was wonderful. The pictures I am sharing are from our quick weekend trip to the beach for her SURPRISE PURPOSAL. It was HOT! VERY! We did have a nice time. I will be honest I am still dealing with pretty strong fatigue. I am entering week 9 of recovery after my hysterectomy and I am surprised at the fatigue and discomfort I do have occasionally still.
I kind of pushed myself (which I know you all encouraged me not to) and it set me back a little bit. I really tried to pace myself, but even with light exercise and trying to do basic normal things my body just was not handling as I thought and truly is still not ready for "normal" life.
In other news, there has been a lot of resting, catching up with some friends, reading, doing the basic homemaking duties and church. I am still not serving in full capacity at church yet. If you do not know I am a pastor's wife to a growing church plant. This season has been good for me to step back and with a bird's eye view and prayer evaluate my return of taking on ministry obligations. As a church planter you often have to serve in MANY "roles." It can become challenging as you are building and launching church growth.
In agreement with my husband and through prayer we have decided that I will not return to serving in some of the MANY areas that I was serving in. All of it had really begun to be too much and was not serving our home, family or even my health well.
I am thankful but also it feels very strange and is very hard for me to let go of certain areas. I also know it is what must be done. I am learning to trust more in the Lord and remember He is in control. He can take care of these areas, and He will fill these roles.
Moving on from that topic..... I am looking forward to the Fall. The heat has been brutal here. The last few days have been 105-108. It is so hot. My plants are all super crunchy no matter the watering. I am ready to take cooler walks, maybe a short simple hike (maybe) and I am ready to bake some yummy fall treats.
Until then, I must embrace the heat and make the most of these "dog days" that are left. Seasons come and go. I will try to be content in this one. :)
Love you all,
Chrissy T
16 comments:
Hi Chrissy! Thanks for 'keeping it real' on your blog. Yes, the seasons can be so fickle. They sometimes leave me feeling emotional... espeically now with 'back to school'. I need to adjust my heart to not being home so much during the day. And then Abigail will leave for college soon, sigh...
I am so sorry to hear that you have are still experiencing fatigue. I will continue to lift you up in daily prayer.
I am glad you are surrounded by the love of your wise husband who is helping you make healthy/recovery decisions.
Be well,
Tara
Congrats on your daughters proposal! I missed that while I was on my mini vacation.
Sounds like a good idea to step back and take a little break, but I know it's not always easy to do.
Nice to see a post from you
I think you are smart not to do EVERYTHING. It is important to say no once in a while. :)
Hope all goes well. Yes we have to trust in the Lord. Janice
It's really so hard not to push it at times and do too much but you listened to your body and have backed off again which is really all you can do. I hope you get a break from the heat soon!
The older I get, the more I’m convinced there are periods of ‘settling in’ to new phases of life, but they don’t last long. Life is always shifting. I had major surgery less than a year ago, and I am just now feeling back to my normal energy levels. It takes time. Much of the healing is done in the first couple of months, but that last bit takes months and months. Be gentle with yourself!
Congratulations on your daughter’s proposal and best wishes to everyone!
You take your time and you deserved the break after blogging so much and your surgery. Beautiful photos! You have to be kind to yourself and not take too much on and if it means stepping back from a few things so be it.
Such beautiful words you wrote, Chrissy. I especially liked when you mention blogs as writing a letter to good friends and reading a letter that was written. That's a great way to put it. I'm sorry you are struggling right now in this season, but hopefully Fall will give you more energy with all those delightful decorations and pumpkin and apple treats that come with it....and cooler weather for you. Take care, and I appreciate that last "to the woman" quote. It really spoke to me. : )
Thank you for your transparency and honesty. Its unfortunate how many times "we" as the congregation put expectations on pastors and especially pastors wives. I really am glad you are going to step back on duties and even your desires , so you can heal completely and allow those in your new church plant to step up and help to build a strong church family. There is going to be a wonderful future in that church and for you and your wise husband as you work as a team.
Praying for you !!!
(((hugs)))
Sue
Hello my beautiful dear Chrissy! Sending giant hugs to you. It is difficult to navigate when we find ourselves in changing waters.But I commend you for listening to His voice and your own about what you need to do for this season of life. I even bet one day you'll look back on right now and see the blessings that show up from making the change. I believe the Lord pushes us in certain directions for a reason. I pray for your continued healing and growth in the days ahead. I also pray for cooler temps and Fall to show up soon! I'm so ready for those BER months too. Blessings always 🙏🏻💛🍁
As a former (retired) pastor's wife, I can totally relate to everything you are saying. I've been there, done that, and have the t-shirts. When you take your role of being a pastor's wife seriously and feel called to ministry alongside your husband, it can definitely be exhausting even if rewarding. There were times that I had to step back and prioritize my activities to being the pastor's WIFE, as his "help meet"...not to do the work he was doing, but to serve him so he could serve better. Also to be more available to our own children's needs rather than feeling like I had to "save all the children". It's a fine line to walk, and there are so many expectations put upon a pastor's wife in addition to the ones we put on ourselves. And we have our own personal needs to take care of, especially our health...both physical and spiritual and emotional. Right now you are still healing from a major operation...one that altered your life and also your hormonal balance. That is not a small thing to be ignored, but rather fully addressed and cared for before you can take care of anything/anyone else. As an older sister in the Lord who has been there in that same physical situation as well, trust me when I say you need to take care of YOU first, and then eventually you will be able to gradually find your balance and place again in doing what you believe God is calling you to do. But don't rush it. Give yourself plenty of time to heal.Your true friends and sisters in Christ will totally understand and will encourage you and lift you up without expectation of what you can do for them. One day at a time..."one season to the next..." God bless you my friend.
I think you're right, one season to the next is the perfect way to look at life, especially now after surgery and your daughter's engagement. Some seasons are long, others not so much, I think it's important to honor them all for what they are and move on when it feels right!
I can so relate to what you've written. I am in a season but it is mixed with sadness AND happiness and I can't always sort it out and stay 'even'. I think you have some good ideas about what you can and cannot do going forward. I'll pray for you as I know you pray for me. Sweet hugs, Diane
Hello Chrissie. I love your photos.
I am pleased to read you are stepping away from some of your responsibilities & taking more time to recover properly. Although it feels like a long time since your surgery, on the whole scheme of things, it is still early days. So I am pleased you are listening to what your body needs & taking a break. Sending healing prayers & love to you Chrissie. x0x
Hi Chrissy, congratulations to your daughter! I wish you all good health and happiness. God bless you. Thank you so much for sharing.
Don't think of letting go of certain things you like forever. Think of it as "for now." If, and when, you are able to take them on again, you will. You may find that you don't, and that's OK, too. You've had one heck of a few months and I can't believe your stress level is anything short of high, even when some of the thihgs are very good indeed. We love it when you visit; we get it when you don't. You just take care.
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