5 Things I've Learned about Grief | Monday Musings

5 Things I've Learned about Grief | Monday Musings

Before the last few weeks of my life, I had never truly dealt with grief. I had been extremely sad over friends and family members passing away, some even unexpectedly, but I was certainly not prepared for the passing of our first son before he even took a breath (read the story here if you missed it). The grief that ensued in the weeks following was unlike anything I'd gone through before. In some ways I am still in the middle of working through this process, but over the last month I've learned some things I never thought I'd experience. Again, I'm writing this because I need to share it and it needs to be heard - and I hope you never have to go through true grief in your lifetime...

My San Francisco Adventure | Monday Musings

My San Francisco Adventure | Monday Musings

Less than a year ago, I read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed. It chronicled her journey of hiking the most dangerous mountain range in America – by herself. After I finished, I was dying to do something similar. Nathan laughed at me a little because he knew I hated hiking, but I was determined. I couldn’t figure out what I could do (because truly, hiking for a month by yourself is more dangerous than I’m willing to risk). When I saw an article detailing a man’s Amtrak adventure across the country, I was hooked.

The day I left, I was filled with nervous anticipation. Equal parts fear, excitement, and anxiety gripped me as I walked onto the first train. I made it to Washington, DC, without incident, though, and with 2 hours to kill I immediately started the 1.5 mile walk to the White House.

A Season of Rest | Monday Musings

A Season of Rest | Monday Musings

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you'll see a common theme emerging - the idea of rest, and what it has and hasn't meant to me over the years (see examples here and here). At the beginning of the year I wrestled a lot with how to even go about resting. My friend Chelsea and I spent hours mulling over what it looks like to have a healthy work/life balance, and keep Jesus at the center of it all.

These times were so good for my heart, because they forced me to sit down and really think about everything. But then the busy season hit, and there were just a lot of things I had to do. From editing to blogging to personal things like filling out mounds of paperwork for our adoption, rest wasn't my top priority, and in a lot of ways it couldn't be.