Bumps in the Road Happen

It had been my intention to get a newsletter out each month this year....now it is May, and this is the first edition for 2013. So much for the plans of mice and men...

So what happened? Bumps in the road. Would that this healing journey could be smooth, flat and scenic. That has not been my experience.

I ran into life that got suddenly busy, combined with what I now believe to be Seasonal Affective Disorder, two weeks of the crud, a sprained foot, as well as old and new issues that reared up again, on a new level, ready for healing work.

The S.A.D is an interesting thing. Looking back, I have always hated February, and even before I began this healing journey, I had the wisdom to try to schedule vacation during February so that those I worked with didn't have to deal with my grouchiness for the entire 28 days! This year, having done much healing work already, I was able to see that my "February phobia" was perhaps not "normal" and that I didn't have to continue to suffer from it without attempting to get help. I invested in a Light Therapy Box, and it has made a huge difference. This is a testimony to the healing I have done; in the 'old days' I would have just accepted that I was destined to feel lousy every February, and that would have been that.  

So, now it is May.  More light. Day lillies trying to peek their way up through the dirt. The to-do list pared down to somewhat manageability, and I have time to write an article and put the newsletter together.   

Well, yes....and no. Yes we have to ride them out...but not 'just'. We can still take steps to help ourselves. Part of what I find necessary to do when I run into "rocks on road" is to take care of myself. (Before my healing work, that would have been the LAST thing I did!) Over the past few months, I have napped more. Gone out for lunch with friends. Skyped with supportive people. Written lists to help keep me on track when my memory because less than reliable. Let some things slide (like the newsletter!), and focused on the things that were most pressing. Continued to exercise regularly. Journalled. Meditated, prayed, doodled. Continued to see my therapist and spiritual director. Played with little children. Cut myself slack. Reached out to others in pain. And hung on to the truth that bumps in the road do not mean that I am back where I began, that my healing work was all for naught, that the sun would not come out again.

Sometimes the best thing to do when I encounter bumps in the road is to call a friend who 'gets it' and ask him/her to tell me those truths...for often when I am navigating the rocks, I cannot see those truths for myself. That is why we need to surround ourselves with a caring community as we journey on this path toward spiritual healing and wholeness.

Bumps in the road remind me that this is a journey, not a destination. And that although it is not always smooth, as long as I persist in putting one foot in front of the other, baby step fashion, that I will continue to grow, to heal and to reclaim the life my Creator had in mind for me.

Thank God for shock absorbers.

Elaine Oxenbury