first

When I started digging deeper into my emotional health, I realized that the best way to have time to sort through my emotions and seek God's wisdom on the next step was to take a step back. This summer I wrote precious little for my blog, and limited my other writing avenues to my newspaper column and state fair features.

I imagine some of my readers were surprised, but I knew I wanted to focus on what was going on in this area of personal growth. What would I have left worth talking/ writing about if I did not deal honestly with myself and with God? Not much.

I had priorities that had to do with my own health and my family relationships. It was freeing to spend extra time with our girls this summer. We made great memories, and shared a lot of time just being together. In a world where everything is go-go-go, it was refreshing to just be still.

If you're wondering if you need to step away from the busy-ness of everyday life to sort through your emotions, the answer is probably yes. Finding even small chunks of time alone to process, evaluate, and think through your emotional responses can help you see the areas where you need to let go, and the areas where you need to learn something new. 

I encourage you to take the first step: pray. Ask God to show you where to carve out time alone. Ask God to show you where you have hidden your feelings and to teach you how to make better, honest responses in the future.

Life is a journey, not an event. Take the first step, and then the next, and soon, you'll be able to see how far you have traveled.