Taking the Driver's Seat

This summer, life threw me a curveball.

All is and will be okay, and the details of it all are too personal to share here, but I will say that some of the most humbling and trying times of my life have taken place these last couple months. I’ve been tested to my core and decided very early on in this journey that I would choose truth and to let my situation grow me instead of giving it the power to harden me. That’s such an easy thing to say you should do when you’re not the one living it out, you know? It’s so very hard to choose truth when everything in you wants to give in to a victim mentality. At the same time, it’s incredibly freeing to claim the driver’s seat and steer toward the path that leads to truth, to growth, to surrender, to empathy, to love.

I’ve learned that things people do or say only mean what you make them mean.

I’ve learned that it hurts way less to try to understand somebody in love, even through anger, than it does to shut them out because of that anger.

I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel my feelings and not try to numb them with food or other dopamine-inducing distractions.

I’ve learned that taking care of my body mentally and physically makes a world of difference in how I interface with all the things in life.

I’ve learned that you never know the whole story of someone’s life while watching them through a metaphorical window (social media, acquaintances, etc). Everyone, and I mean everyone has their own baggage.

I’ve learned that I have so much more power than I’ve ever given myself credit for, including the power to change how I feel about something or someone by changing the way I think about it/them. In other words, my thoughts create my feelings. Sounds simple, right? It is, in theory. Actually doing it is a beast. But I, and you, have that power!

I’ve learned that I care so much more than I ever thought I did about the empowerment of women and how important it is that we are able to be what we want and need to be regardless of life’s circumstances.

Gosh, so many more things could be added to this list but for now I’ll just say this: I want to stretch and grow with the life God has blessed me with.

Life is a crazy, wild and beautiful dance and I want to keep in step.

xo, Lindsay