Lessons I Learned From Elsa-2016

I found this post this week that was written last November and decided it was time to share.

How many of you are still experiencing this song, “Let It Go,” over and over again? Has the Frozen frenzy ended or are some of your little ones in the midst of experiencing this obsession? I must admit I really liked that movie but I’m afraid the message I heard so often has taken a long time to sink in.

I was talking to my sister a few months ago and we got to talking about trying to fix our bad days and turn them around and how frustrating it is to have days like that and how often we hang on to those days as evidence of all the things we are doing wrong in our lives.  My sister challenged me on days like that to let it go, chalk it up as having a bad day and move on.  This is simple but it was a major light bulb moment for me.  I’m a fixer by nature so the thought that I could just leave the day and say, “well, that was a doozy,” and leave it alone was HUGE.  We will have difficult days.  It is part of our mortal experience.  There is a scriptures teach us that there must be opposition in all things.  If your kids never got sick, made messes, took their diaper off and peed in the middle of the kitchen floor (yep, that happened this week), we wouldn’t appreciate the days when everyone was healthy, the dishes are mostly done, and the clothes stayed on (the struggle is real my friends). We have to have disagree with our spouse, family, co-workers, roommates and friends every once in a while so we can appreciate that we can forgive and still be friends. It’s all part of life.  Sometimes life is messy and the real lesson is to not let that messiness keep you from finding joy in the little things. So thanks Elsa, but mostly thanks to my sister who took a moment to teach me another lesson that God had for me. 

Stop Selling Yourself Short

60%, I explained to my sister, I am about 60-70% of the woman I once was.  The conversation had turned deep fast as we talked about the challenges we are currently facing. She was recovering from a bout of pneumonia and I was still adjusting to the idea of a life without my spouse.  She explained something to me that changed the way I saw myself.  She said simply, "if you are doing the best you can, you are operating at 100%."  What a simple concept, yet so profound.

Somewhere along the way I came to understand that my value lies not in who I am but in what I am able to accomplish in a day.  I would make to do lists and trudge through them day after day sometimes missing out on the simple things that are so important to my happiness. How often I chose a chore over a quiet moment with someone I loved based on this valuation.

When did I start to believe I was broken because I couldn't do the laundry list of things that media portrays a "good mom" doing? There is not list of required accomplishments to be a successful human being.  There is not expectation that we all reach the same goals or pursue the same dreams.  How dull life would be if that were true!

Each of us is unique.  Our life goals and aspirations and how we spend our time on any given day will be as unique as we are and it it's time to embrace the beautiful things that make you you.

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