this is one of those personal posts. you know, one of those where i step outside of my comfort zone, and outside of the crafty/creative world, and share with y’all what is in my heart. what i’ve experienced that i’m guessing maybe, just maybe, one or two of you out there have gone through.

my new desk artwork. a little daily reminder to keep the grace. special thanks to my friend katie for her courage to share her journey with grace + the inspiration.

the title of this post is “getting the grace back.” a few weeks ago, i was scrolling through my facebook newsfeed, and came across a new blog post from my friend katie. she’s an amazing writer…she writes from the heart, and so much of what she writes, i resonate with. i had a few minutes to actually read the post then and there (versus saving it on facebook), and i was brought to tears. she wrote about grace. specifically, her need to re-align herself, and become more gracious in her every day life, in all aspects of it. and, let me tell you, after the past four weeks, that one post, that one word – grace – hit me like a ton of bricks. she could have been writing about me.

let’s just say that 2016 didn’t get off to the most smooth start in our little corner of the world. there’s nothing earth-shattering about it, but there’s been some happenings that have rocked our pretty smooth little world off its pretty even-keel axis. and, because i’m writing this to get out of my comfort zone, i’ll share.

we can start back at the end of december. it started with a medication that wasn’t jiving with me. it made the holidays a little jilty + cumbersome, but we persevered + had a great holiday season. because it wasn’t a must-have, i stopped it. and fortunately, between my amazing chiropractor/acupuncturist + my nurse practitioner, i was feeling better quickly. (i’ll give a little plug here for chiropractic work, acupuncture, and the use of essential oils. i was always skeptical. i started seeing my fantastic DC last july and when i walked in to see her after this whole medicine thing, she looked at me and without skipping a beat, she said “we’re going to get you back on track.” and we did. i love it. it’s relaxing, it’s helped me, and it’s a great complement to western medicine. there, i’m exiting my soap box now.) but at first, my grace started to fade a bit. you know when you just don’t feel like yourself? that was me. thank goodness for my godsend of a husband for just sweeping in and taking on probably 30 more percent of our 50/50 split of roles and responsibilities at home and in our lives as parents. he’s literally the best. and, thank goodness for great doctors.

after that happened, a big change came at work. for anyone who really knows me, i really, really, really, really love my professional life in marketing. i’ve been at this for almost fifteen years, i’ve worked hard at it, and i believe in it, and i am nothing if not passionate about it. was it the end of the world? no. was it something that rocked me? yep. once again, enter that grace fading a bit more. but thanks to my family, friends, amazing co-workers, professional colleagues, my community, and my faith, it’s on its way back. (which i’m so happy for!)

i guess the whole moral of this is that: 

1. i had gotten really, really, really comfortable in our little life. everything was ticking away “as it should be,” and we were in a groove. i had gotten too comfortable. there’s something to be said for that. i think i’ve learned that sometimes shaking things up a bit can be a good thing. for one thing, all of this has gotten me back into a regular exercise routine, which can only help! (confession: i had kind of fallen off that wagon in late-2015.) 

2. change is inevitable. (duh.) i’m a first-born, type-a mama. and i’m a capricorn. change isn’t really part of my daily vernacular, so this has been a life lesson. 

3. everything happens for a reason. i’ve said it before, i’ll say it again. my mimi never spoke truer words. and, through all of this, i’m learning. i’m understanding more about myself, my health, and how to find some of that balance that’s so important when things are rocked a bit. 

coming out on the other side of this month (which has felt like a really, really, really long month), i can say this start to 2016 isn’t a negative. it’s a positive. it’s educated me. it’s helped me grow. it’s made me see that having grace in the face of some not-so-fun stuff is important. and isn’t that what this life is all about?