As I anticipated the start of summer break, I counted down the weeks and days. I was excited about all the fun things I would plan and adventures we would take. My sister and I had planned a fun end of the school year celebration for the boys and lots of great activities were planned, but when that day finally arrived, things did NOT go according to plan!
I had been struggling with some pain in my lower back for almost a week. It was highly uncomfortable, and for the last few days had been getting a little worse, so I’d been taking it easy. But on that last day of school, I was in excruciating and debilitating pain.
I had done everything in my power to avoid it getting to this point. I have never had problems with my back in my life…and once this is resolved, I pray I never do again. The night before I had made a trip in to the walk-in clinic to make sure that everything was under control for the last day of school.
Yeah, it didn’t really work out that way. I’d been struggling more than ever that morning and as I changed one of the little ones, the pain got so intense I absolutely couldn’t believe it. So, as my children were arriving home from school that day, they only had their oldest brother to welcome them since I was at the doctors office again. Oh yes, the guilt will follow me…cuz I’m that mom!
Well, here we are a week later, and I have still not been able to start our summer. I’m not the kind of mom that likes to have to stop everything to take care of herself…I see an awful lot of you nodding your head out there!
One thing that I have had to challenge myself with in all of this is to get back in focus. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by this looming issue in front of me, and I have to admit, I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to do to compensate for what I’m going through. But while I get answers to the bigger logistical questions on my mind right now, I have to get my heart and attitude back in the right place!
Sure, this is not “life according to plan”…well MY plan that is. So getting the right perspective is everything in a situation like this. Hardships come to all of us, compared to many my hardships are nothing and I need to just roll with it and “get a grip”!
So many things in life can throw us off course if we aren’t careful. The very thing I had been anticipating with so much care and joy became the opposite in one fell swoop. Sometimes it doesn’t take much, but in that moment, if we remember to focus on the bigger picture and ask God for direction to get us through so that we can move beyond it…only then can we really go anywhere.
Today, I’m focused…I’ll continue to work toward healing my body so that I’m physically able to take on the rest of summer, but in the mean time, I’ll also be looking for creative things to do with all the kiddos. It will look a little different than my original plan for sure, but I think in the end it will be rewarding.
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