Life Update

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Good morning, friends! I’m giving you a little recap into the last few weeks with a life update.

 

I’ve been wanting to get this post written for a couple of weeks now. Things seem to have continually gotten in the way and I just felt too exhausted to type. But here I am, writing to you, and it feels so good to just get back to a little bit of normal!

 

These past few weeks have felt more like months.

 

My main goal with this post is not to just share with you what’s been happening and why I haven’t been posting/commenting as usual, but truly to share with you what I’ve learned throughout this difficult time in hopes that it will help you if you’re going through something really hard too.

 

Family Deaths & Sickness

 

If you would have told me that my grandma would call me on that Monday evening to tell me that my 36-year-old cousin had passed away, I wouldn’t have believed you. It was just devastating and shocking.

 

He had a massive heart attack.

 

My cousin Donald was more like a brother to me than a cousin. He was such a special person, a pastor of a church, a great husband and father.

 

While I’ve always been aware of how quickly life can end, this really brought that to the very forefront of my mind. So very young to be gone so quickly.

 

It truly is important to be ready to go when it’s your time. We don’t know what time we will pass away, and that’s why we have to be ready for when God says its our time.

 

His funeral was on Friday of that week, and two weeks later, I was at my grandma’s (not the same one that called me about my cousin) funeral.

 

In-between those funerals were weeks filled with long hours sitting with family, taking care of those who were sick and needed help. Everything was sort of happening all at once, and it felt very overwhelming.

 

What I Learned in the Process

 

I’m going to try to keep this post short, as the subject is a little heavy and we have a whole lot of heavy stuff going on in the world right now.

 

1. Tell Someone You Love Them TODAY – Don’t Wait!

 

We tend to think that we have all the time in the world, but we are living on borrowed time. Only God knows when it is our time to go. Below is a snippet of a post I wrote on my personal Facebook after my cousin had passed away.

 

 

2. Even When Things Are Really Tough – They Will Get Better

 

It may not be right away. There may be more things that life throws at you that you have no idea how to face or cope with, but know that things will change.

 

It won’t be like this for forever.

 

I’m still sort of in the midst of everything right now, but there seems to be a little light at the end of the tunnel now. We still have some sickness in our family that we aren’t really sure how things are going to go, but I’m trusting that things will work out.

 

I know this difficult time is not permanent, just temporary.

 

3. To Take Care of Others, You Have to Take Care of YOU!

 

If you’ve been on my blog before, you’ve likely read that statement a few times. I try to make the point that self care is not an option, it’s a requirement.

 

You know what they say, sometimes it’s hard to take your own advice.

 

I haven’t done the best job at taking care of myself throughout these tough few weeks. My main focus has been on making sure everyone else is okay.

 

Even though it’s super important to be mindful of others and to do what you can to help, you also have to listen to your body when it’s telling you to slow down.

 

It has been catching up to me lately, and I have really noticed over this past weekend. I almost feel like I’m getting sick, but I think it’s just from being worn out right now.

 

 

I hope you gained something from this post, friend. If you’re going through a rough patch, know that you will come out on the other side – stronger than ever.

 

I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you who stop by my blog. Even if you don’t leave a comment, I truly appreciate you reading my posts and would love to connect with you. I’m so thankful for each of you! I haven’t written any weekly recaps prior to this post, but I think it’s something I’d like to do from time-to-time (lighter recaps, I hope! 🙂 ).

 

What do you think? Would you like to see more recaps to add a personal touch to the blog?