#1 I am a terrible patient.
See, the week after Christmas I caught either Influenza A or B – not sure since each child had a different strain (lucky us!). After a couple weeks battling that, I had three days where I felt GREAT! Then I caught a different virus that my husband had – because I accidentally USED HIS TOOTHBRUSH! Yes, you read that right – I used his toothbrush on accident and caught the virus he had. I’m not sure if it was worse than Influenza (either A or B), but it was certainly a close runner up.
I did try to be a patient patient, but my forbearance ran out when I came down with the second illness. All the plans I had made – you know that THIS year I wasn’t going to procrastinate but actually accomplish my goals – had to be put on hold. It did not make me happy. Which leads me to the second thing I learned.
#2 Rest is NOT a four letter word.
Maybe it’s because I was SO ready to stop procrastinating, but I chafed against my need for rest. I felt a combination of guilt and irritation, but I couldn’t get around it. I either had to lay down for an hour or so every afternoon OR I’d both feel worse AND find myself nodding off at inopportune times.
I came across these verses on a day I was really upset by the whole “get the year off with a bang” debacle. “For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore, let us be diligent to enter that rest so that no one will fall.” Hebrews 4:10, 11a. (emphasis mine).
I finally cried “Uncle,” and gave in to the fact that, for whatever reason, January was supposed to be a month of rest for me. Which led me to the third thing I learned this month.
#3 I am fortunate to be able to work from home.
There are sometimes when weekly deadlines kind of get to me, but honestly, I’m not sure what I would have done if I had to drag myself to a workplace on a daily basis for a set number of hours. Because I work from home as a freelance writer, I get to set my hours. I made all my interviews phone interviews, and I really didn’t even need to leave the house (well, except to go to the grocery and those times I had to get out or go crazy!). There is something to be said for being self-employed. Despite the challenges that it sometimes presents, I really can’t imagine having to go work for someone else!
#4 Quiet times don’t always have to include a commentary to be meaningful.
I am a big believer in studying God’s Word, but over the past month, mornings have not been stellar for me in regards to my brain functioning. So, I have spent a lot more time just reading a Scripture and meditating on it and then journaling out my prayers (for fear if I bowed my head and closed my eyes, I might nod off). While it is a bit different than what I normally do, I have found a sense of peace and quietness in allowing myself to just BE with God. In fact, He didn’t even mind when I did nod off a few times.
#5 Down time isn’t wasted.
I spent a lot of time on my couch this month instead of the usually running around. It made me realize that down time doesn’t have to be wasted. Stilling my body so I could rest, did something kind of interesting – it gave me time for my creative juices to start flowing. It gave me some white space in which to dream. Sure, there were days when I felt a sense of panic over all I WASN’T getting done, but there is something very peaceful about not having much of a choice. Even if I WANTED to go full speed, I just couldn’t (and I’m still not up to 100%). By late afternoon, I was pretty much done. Instead of trying to do one more project or one more chore, I would sit and read or hang out with my family (the weather helped that out by canceling some things so we HAD to stay in). And guess what? The world did not come to a stop. Everything didn’t crumble or spin into chaos (well, mostly). One of my goals for this New Year was to make more time for family, friends and fun. This month sort of forced me to slow down enough to even make that possible. Which leads me to the other thing I learned this month.
# 6 I can say no and the world doesn’t end.
I don’t like to tell people no. My husband is always saying – “Do you REALLY want to do that? You are already busy so how is that going to work?” In 2014, my inability to say no often led to me being overwhelmed and frustrated because by saying yes to too many things, I was missing out on what God actually wanted me to do. Being sick, it made saying no pretty easy – especially as most people didn’t really want me or my germs anywhere near them.
Being forced to slow down, to not take on anything but the absolutely necessary gave me some margin in my hectic life I think that realization might just have been worth all the kleenex I’ve been through!
What did you learn in January? Was it what you thought it would be?
I’d love to hear about it!
Blessings, Rosanne
p.s. Today I’m linking up over at Chatting at the Sky. Why don’t you hop on over to see what other people have learned in the month of January!
1 Comment on 6 Things I Learned in January
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Wow! I love your list here! I am so glad that we are neighbors over at Emily’s place! And this: “It gave me some white space in which to dream.” Yes!!! I wrote a bit about this kind of thing too… but these words summed it up perfectly! Great post!
~Karrilee~ recently posted…What I Learned in January: a Random List of Lessons and Revelations