I did it!

If you've read my book, you might remember me referring to my attempt at training for a half marathon. I gave up training because it was too hard, and made the comparison to taking care of my husband. I didn't know how I was going to keep up the strength because it just required more than I had.

Well let me give you a little update...not only did I get through the most difficult days with Jeff, but I completed a half marathon. Not just one though, but 2 half marathons. Then this weekend, I completed a FULL marathon, that's 26.2 miles!



These are all accomplishments I never thought I would achieve. There where many times I wanted to give up. Times I thought, I couldn't go any further. But I just kept pushing through. I kept thinking, "just a little further".

With Jeff, there wasn't a clear goal in mind, but I knew I just had to make it through one more day. I couldn't focus on the end because I didn't know what it looked like. I just had to get through that moment. And now, he's amazing, and so is our marriage. We got through something we never thought we could survive.

With the marathon, I focused on the finish line. I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Now, I can say I did it!

If I can keep running when every ounce of energy is gone, and every part of my body is screaming at me to stop...If I can make it through my husband's traumatic brain injury, and find joy through the journey...then I can do anything!

I didn't accomplish any of this because I'm "strong". I did it because I leaned on God in the hardest times, and had determination. I am no stronger than you. You can do anything you put your mind to, you just need to know where your strength comes from, and it's not from within yourself.

Lesson Learned

I've been on a bit of a health kick lately. I have heard about all the bad things in our foods and try to eat only non-processed foods.

I use the word try very loosely as I really enjoy eating, and I can't say no to yummy food when it crosses my path (which is a lot).

OK, so really I am on a health kick in my head, but in reality I eat terribly. However, I'm running a marathon this weekend so I'll burn off the calories (and hopefully all the harmful preservatives and other poisons too).

So on this health kick, I'm also learning about all kinds of other products that are bad for us, and the new remedies. The newest product I've been introduced to is coconut oil.

It has all kinds of fantastic health benefits and can be used for so much more than just cooking. It helps reduce wrinkles, stretch marks, and scars. It makes your skin soft and your hair shiny. It can remove eye makeup, and heal cracked feet.

Since it has all these great benefits, I thought it would be a great idea to just slather it all over my body! I also thought this would be a great idea to do right before heading off to work...

So I get out of the shower this morning, and lather up with the coconut oil. The trick is that a little goes a long way. I read that, but I thought that the more I slathered on, the better my skin would look.

Did I mention it's coconut OIL? Oil is not like lotion. It does not absorb into my skin as smoothly as lotion.

I'm now covered in oil, and the blog I read said to let it sit for 15 minutes and it should soak in. So I finished getting ready and let it "soak in".

20 minutes later I was still just as oily, and now I have to get dressed to go to work. I thought I would speed the process up a little by standing in front of a fan.

That didn't work.

Then I started trying to wipe it off with a towel. At least that helped me be a little less slippery.

By this time, I need to leave, and I have to get dressed, or I'm going to be late to work. So I decided my clothes could just finish soaking the oil up.

On the bright side, my skin is very soft...and I now know to try my new remedies on the weekend so I'm not late to work.

Everything I Ever Wanted

I was praying this morning, asking God for some things that I want, and praising Him for what I have. I began thinking about all the blessings He's given me, and realized that He has given me everything that I've ever wanted and more.

I've always had pictures in my head of how my life would look, how it would play out. While none of it played out the way I planned, somehow, I have still been blessed with all of it.

I graduated college, got married to an amazing man, finished graduate school, have a wonderful job, and now we are talking babies. They are all typical things that most people want from life, but I did a lot along the way to mess things up.

I shouldn't have been able to have all this. I made a lot of choices that should have made several of those blessings disappear. And, like I said they didn't all happen the way I thought they would.

There were a lot of bumps along the way. Jeff's brain injury being a major one. Yet, somehow those bumps made life even better.

I have a relationship with God now that is just beyond description. I was just telling Him this morning how much I love our relationship because I can sit and talk to Him like a friend, like He's sitting right next to me. I don't have to bow my head and close my eyes. I don't have to pray some formal prayer. There is a time and place for that, but mostly, I can just have a conversation with Him. I can share anything and everything, there are no secrets. I can sit and cry, yell at Him, thank Him, praise Him, ask for something, or say nothing at all and just bask in His presence.

I am simply amazed at how God has worked in my life. How He has given me everything I ever wanted, in a way that I never thought was possible, never would have asked for, and yet it is better than anything I could have imagined.

All the while, knowing that I deserve none of it. I have done nothing to earn it.

The only reason is because God is good, and He loves me.

www.howisurvivedmyhusbandsbraininjury.com

Shining the Light

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven” Matthew 5:16.

I haven’t always been one to start up a conversation about my faith. I used to keep quiet about it unless someone asked me. I thought that if I lived a good life, that people would just assume that I was a Christian. I thought that people would see my joy and ask where I got it from.

But that rarely ever happened.

Many people who aren’t Christians do good things for others, and many that are Christians don’t. So simply being a good person wasn’t a witness to my beliefs.

The previous verses give a little more insight. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” Matthew 5:14-15.

I cannot hide the reason for my actions. Christ didn’t come to save me so that I could just be a good person. He wants me share what he did with others.

I’ve learned that I can share my story and at the same time share Christ. God worked numerous miracles after Jeff’s accident. I saw his handiwork throughout our journey. Now, all I have to do is share that story and give God the glory he deserves.

As a Christian, I need to act like one, but in doing so I need to share my faith. I need to let my light shine to help others find their way.

In what ways can you let your light shine?

www.howisurvivedmyhusbandsbraininjury.com