Breathing in Life

With each breath we take we experience a grand opportunity. We are given the grand opportunity to experience life to the fullest. It’s up to us whether we allow negative circumstances to impede and rob of us of our joy, zeal for happiness, creativity, faith, our day at hand, and our days ahead. We have the choice to either get up and live…or sit idle and watch life pass us by.

After receiving a less than desirable report from my doctor several years ago I decided that I had let enough time pass me by. I was tired of sitting idle on the outskirts of life and literally watching it pass me by. I was tired of feeling tired all of the time, lacking energy, waking with aching bones, tired of being overweight, and tired of taking medications that could have serious side-effects. I wanted to feel good and be healthy. I wanted to live, and I wanted to live life to its fullest.

I began my journey to live a healthier life, a more simple life, a clean life of eating more abundantly from the earth than consuming man-made processed foods. I became more dedicated to myself, my well-being, my faith, and also to my future through making better choices about what I consumed, relaxing more, exercising more, and removing myself from negative situations and negative people. Slowly, one step at a time, one day at a time…my life began to turn around. The weight began to dissipate, my energy level increased, my outlook on life became more positive, my vitality began to emerge from a place where it had lurked deep in the mires of captivity within myself for far too long.

God’s beauty abounds in the mountains of Kentucky.

Fast forward eight years and I am now 77 pounds lighter and only ten pounds from my goal weight. I am actually wearing sizes and styles of clothes that I never thought I would wear again. I no longer shop in the plus size clothing department. My stamina has returned to an amazing level of satisfaction, I am no longer taking diabetic medication, one less cholesterol pill, and I no longer take stomach medicine. I am sleeping better at night, rising earlier in the morning with more energy. I am enjoying working longer hours in our vegetable garden, and also enjoying every minute of life to the fullest.

With this zest for life also came challenges, both negative and positive. Our world was forever changed by the horrifying word, cancer. My husband was diagnosed with stage two cancer one year ago this month. However, God is good and His grace is abundant. My husband returned to the doctor for a six month check up just last week and was given a clean bill of health. It was a journey…a rough and scary journey along the way, but a journey that was also filled with many life lessons. We were reminded to take each day one day at a time, breath deeply, don’t look back and say what if, remain positive, seek God’s guidance in all things and all decisions, and just keep walking and breathing life’s precious joys both big and small.

Life is a journey…

On a more positive note, just before my husband received his diagnosis, I signed a contract to write a text-book for two courses that I teach. It was a scary moment to sign the contract stating that I could have the nearly four page text written within the year, but I decided that I would not allow this opportunity to pass me by. With my signed contract also came excitement, dreams, fears, joys, worries, and rigorous deadlines. I wrote with a fire and passion about what I wanted to teach my students…I was motivated! Writing the textbook was also a journey. A journey of early mornings, late nights, revisions, proofreading, researching, writing, praying, re-writing, praying some more, decisions, predictions, and many long hours sitting at my desk with a blank page opened on the computer awaiting to be filled with inspiring research-based information of how to teach reading and language arts. One day at a time, one page at a time the pages begin to fill and the final submission was emailed to the editor only a couple of weeks ago. I am excited to receive my copies in upcoming weeks, but also excited to have time to blog again!!

Today, I find myself reflecting on the past with gratitude. I am thankful for my husband’s health, the incredible opportunity and experience of writing a textbook that I can use to guide and teach my students the process of teaching reading and writing as I once taught it with passion as an elementary teacher. I am thankful for the bountiful garden that He has blessed us with, our family and our health, and the joys of life. I am thankful for the breath that I take. I know that each breath I inhale is an opportunity to experience the wonderful joys of living another day on God’s precious earth simple and clean, yet full of passion and daily opportunities that I want to cease. Don’t let time pass you by without getting up and living. Life is compared to a vapor on water…it passes very quickly.

Remember, slow down and take the time to enjoy the small things in life, vibrant blooming flowers, majestic oceans, serene sunsets, fabulous sunrises, and enjoy and cherish moments with family. Engulf yourself with positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive people. Embrace opportunities to improve yourself, your health, your peace of mind, and above all your spiritual self.

Enjoy a sunset…

Feel free to leave comments. Also, check back in upcoming days. I will be posting a delicious acorn squash taco salad very soon that I am sure you will love!