Do you ever wonder if you’re doing the right thing? I know people who are very confident in what they’re doing…they’re following their purpose, doing what they were designed to do.
I suppose even they have moments when they wonder if they really, truly are doing what they’re destined to do.
They wouldn’t be human, otherwise, right?
I currently find myself on the far opposite side of the spectrum as those super confident people. Second-guessing so many things, especially about blogging. I think they call it Imposter Syndrome, perhaps.
Then I find myself engaged in the sweetest of email exchanges with a follower of mine.
We both blessed each other with our words and were profoundly touched.
That is the passion that burns in my heart. And why I’m still plugging away at this blogging thing, even though it’s hard sometimes.
To make the time…because it’s not just the time to write something, it’s all the other things involved in getting it published on the blog, sharing it on the socials…it’s a lot for one person.
I’m not saying this to elicit pity from you, it’s just the way it is right now for me.
Life served up a heaping helping of something I didn’t even want and I’m working my way through it. I’ve dubbed it The Big Hard but it’s also unexpectedly part of my Word of the Year…just not how I envisioned it at all.
I’ll have a little, because there’s lessons to be learned, but the rest needs to go to the compost pile to be turned into fertilizer for things to grow, blossom, and produce fruit.
How I Let It Make Me Better, Not Bitter.
I guess this is the process of how I let things make me better instead of bitter. I was blessed with an active imagination and creative mind so I’ll see an image, an analogy, a metaphor…a creative picture of understanding and healing unfolding in my every day life.
Sometimes I keep these things treasured in my heart. Other times, I put them out into the interwebs for whomever to find it and trust that God will send it to the right people.
During my years as a recipe creator, both for myself and doing freelance work, I learned a lot about things involved in the back-end of the blog. Techie things that drove me nuts. Algorithms.
And the marketing. Of…myself. Something I’ve always felt uncomfortable doing. I have fun sharing things on the socials, don’t get me wrong. But when it comes to Marketing Strategies and such…I cringe and run away.
I think that’s what really sucked the joy out of it for me. The way the system works is you follow the Eternally Changing Rules in the hope that the All Powerful Google Gods bless you with favor.
That favor, being you, reader. The Google might only consider you a number but I am so grateful that you found me out here in the vast and strange interwebs. Because I believe that means there’s something here on my particular piece of digital real estate of benefit to you in some way.
And that fills my heart to overflowing.
Because I want to bless you with my words. To encourage you. To lift you up.
And most of all, help you see whatever situation you’re in from a new perspective. Hopefully, one that leads to healing and walking in freedom. This also helps make me better instead of bitter.
And I hope you pay it forward in some way. I don’t just mean sharing my content, though that is always appreciated. I mean share what you learn in your own healing journey with others and help them heal too.
Purpose In Our Struggles.
We don’t go through the hells we do for nothing. There is always purpose in pain, even when we just can’t see it. I think it just makes our hearts bigger to hold more love and empathy for others going through the same things.
Maybe we never find out what that purpose actually is and that’s ok, too. That means letting go of ownership of the Big Hard Things we don’t understand and trusting that God has it all under control.
Trusting that everything always works out the way it should in the time it will. Finding and feeling gratitude for even the hard things we face isn’t easy, but I promise you it will change your life if you let it.
You Never Know How Powerful Your Words Can Be.
What prompted this post was that email. She needed to hear what I wrote, which I wouldn’t have been able to write if not for the current sitch going on in my life right now.
And I needed to hear that what I wrote hit where I’d hoped it would – deep into someone’s heart who is hurting and needing encouragement. Needing to know they’re not alone in whatever they’re walking through right now.
I think we know this to be true – that we’re not really the only person to ever go through this hellish experience we find ourselves in – but our feelings can really play tricks on our minds at times.
Still, being able to connect with someone on some level about a shared experience helps so much. It helps quiet that voice that says “no one understands what I’m going through.”
And helps banish that feeling of not being seen. Not being heard. Not being understood. Those are such aching, lonely feelings. Big feelings that are hard to process, too.
Sometimes we need a hand doing that. It’s my heart’s desire that what I create and share with you helps you in some way. I love to hear that it does, so don’t be shy! If you don’t want to leave a comment, use the Contact Me link at the top of the page and send a message. I will never share what you share with me with anyone, and I’m the only one reading the emails.
I’m a one-woman enterprise over here at the moment so all the things fall to me. Well, most of them, there’s some annoying basic blog maintenance stuff I am so very happy to outsource. But when it comes to emails and creating all the content I share…that’s all me.
And it’s a lot of work, and so much to keep up with and make sure is correct and appeasing the Google Gods…it’s extra sometimes, especially with food blogging!
Everything Always Works Together Somehow In The Most Amazing Of Ways.
I wonder, regularly, if I’m doing the right thing with blogging in general anyway. And now making a big pivot to a completely different type of posts I really question myself and second-guess everything.
Especially my last blog post. I was not confident about it at all.
Then I get an email like the one I talked about above and I think about that being the whole reason I’m doing this. And how I want to do so much more of it!
It makes me look at this big pivot I made. I think about how, by making this decision to set food blogging aside, I’ve made things easier for myself. Food blogging is sooo time consuming! Tasty, but a lot of work.
And making things easier takes some of the pressure off, which allows creativity to flow again. Creativity flowing means more words to write! More words to write means more blog posts for more people to see and hopefully be helped in some way.
There’s still pressure…a lot of it I have no control over…but I absolutely CAN do something about the pressure of perfectionism and self-doubt I heap on myself too often.
That email also helped me feel seen, and that encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing and trusting that the right people will find my stuff when they need to. Reap what you sow is often used in a negative connotation, but it’s just as applicable in a positive one. This kind woman gave back to me, and on a day I was really questioning things again.
I can’t put all the pieces together overnight, on my own. Things unfold one step at a time. But just like with making changes in your health and wellness, consistently Doing The Things will absolutely help you make progress and get to your goals.
Listening to that nudge to reach out to someone with whatever is on your heart can make all the difference sometimes. Maybe in ways you never know, but maybe in a way that also enriches and blesses your life as well.
It’s especially a wonder when you make unexpected connections in the most interesting of ways.
Yes. This is still my Wonder Year. It’s absolutely leaving me in awe and wonder, I just need to change my perspective to see it.
Is there something you’re dealing with right now that might be completely changed by just looking at it a different way? I find asking “what do I need to learn right now in this situation” often leads me to that fresh perspective and some kind of valuable lesson I need right at that moment.
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