New Habits and Routines

With everything going on in my life right now, I have been working hard to stay as positive as possible and trust God’s plan. It’s not easy… in fact, some days it seems impossible to have faith and believe, but I’m doing it- with the help of many who have been here to support me and keep me focused. I am so grateful to those people in my life. ♥

I wrote in a recent entry about starting each day with an attitude of gratitude, which is something I have found very helpful for the last couple of years. One thing I have found that helps even more is starting my day by reading a little from my Bible. This morning, I read from the book of Job, and if you’re not familiar with Job’s story, he went through years and years of torment, despite his faithfulness to God. After what felt like endless suffering, God ended up blessing Job in even more ways than he ever imagined he could be. Job’s story is an important story because it reminds us that God makes us go through hard times not as a punishment, but as a test of our faith. If we remain faithful and stay focused on God, He will bless us.

I really needed to get that reminder this morning. Yesterday I started my day feeling hopeful and positive, and by the end of the day, I was feeling incredibly discouraged and questioning God why I have to keep going through the struggles I’ve been going through. I’ve been searching for a new job tirelessly since May, and still haven’t had any luck in finding a new role despite having several interviews that I felt went well. I’m going through a horrible custody battle, and the agony I’ve felt through that has just about broken me at times. In public I put on a happy face, but I have shed many, many tears in private.

In my heart, I know there is a purpose for all this suffering. I know God has a plan for me and my life, but I’m human and I pray sometimes and ask Him “Why do I have to keep hurting like this, Lord? Can you please just end all this now?” The thing about it is that we’re not meant to have all the answers. If we knew what was going to happen to us, it would change the way we react to certain situations, and we wouldn’t learn anything from the things we go through in life. God puts us through hard times to test our faith, yes, but also to teach us lessons about ourselves and the people in our lives. I understand that, and it helps knowing that I’m not being punished for something, but again- I’m human. Knowing this doesn’t stop me from hurting and wishing it would all end as soon as possible.

So starting my day with gratitude for the blessings in my life- no matter how small- and reading my Bible help me stay focused on keeping the faith and trusting the process. Another thing I’ve recently started is having a short dance party in the mornings.  I put on music that makes me want to shake my butt, and I dance like nobody’s watching… ’cause nobody is and nobody cares if I can’t dance that well or if I look like I’m having a seizure. I love music and I like to dance, so it gets me moving and puts me in a good mood to start the day. And if I break a sweat or get too hot, I can go take a cool shower to bring my body temperature down and feel refreshed. Sometimes I’ll do it before I sit down and have my coffee in the mornings, and sometimes I’ll do it right after, but either way I am loving this new routine; it’s made a big difference in my mood.

Today I challenge you to add something to your daily routine that makes you feel happier and more positive. Whether it’s making time to watch the sunrise, listening to music that you love, or buying your coworker’s lunch, I promise it will help you feel better about your day and your life. ♥