Learning As We Grow

NOTHING ABOUT EXISTENCE IS ACCIDENTAL Today I studied the words of Isaiah, Chapter 49. I feel like the words spoke directly to me today, as they are so relevant to my life. Through our journey with Eoin and his heart defect, I have come to know SO MANY families with children who also have heart defects...or even other defects THAT THEY WERE BORN WITH. These were defects developed during pregnancy (also called a "congenital" defect), while these sweet babies were still in the womb. I think about this often, and what the Creator's plan might be with all of this. I am often preoccupied as I think about our family's future, of Eoin's future. My heart is panged when I get to meet new moms who have just received the diagnosis that something is "not normal" about their baby. And something as severe as HLHS is initially quite shattering, because you realize that caring for a child with this defect will be a life-long, DAILY challenge. My feelings become

Today I feel heavy. Heavy, as in...just weighed down (long sigh). I feel a bit overwhelmed with every day sort of things. It's not even BIG LIFE things. It's the day-to-day things. But I find myself in a mindset of self doubt, and just basically feeling like I suck. 😅 But truly? It's just one of those days that I can't help but also feel like I'm falling short. Falling short on EVERYTHING. 😞 I read the book "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" by John Gray, PhD, over a decade ago. Great book for multiple reasons, and I recommend every adult should read it. As I was feeling a wave of overwhelm this morning, after literally crying as I prayed to God for guidance with my day, this book came to mind. I remember that it talked about emotions and how people process emotions. It talked about how "women are like waves". Often, we will let emotions build and pile up (both good and bad). Things on our minds build and pile up. They just keep

MEQUILLIBRIUM  For Brett's work, they offer employees and spouses free access to an online website called MEQUILLIBRIUM . It focuses on mental wellness, mindfulness, health coaching, and self-development. As an incentive, employees and spouses can earn around $50 for each activity they complete, with a max of $300 that can be earned per person. So, to earn $600 extra for just doing things like guided meditation activities, or phsychological wellness assessments, it's a no brainer. I was actually completing an activity on MeQuillibrium today. This particular activity had to do with TRAUMA. I didn't necessarily choose this activity, as it is a standard part of the course that you work through on the site. BUT, I nonetheless found it really relevant. And from the activity, I gained a new understanding of trauma that I hadn't considered before: I learned that trauma, essentially, is SUBJECTIVE. THE 4 COMPONENTS OF TRAUMA Trauma is likely to occur when one or more