It was one of those mornings. I woke up with a splitting headache, a migraine emanating from my eyes. Winter's grip was still strong, with the thermometer reading -15C. I stumbled from my bed to the kitchen in search of a hot cup of coffee to console myself. My two boys were at the tail end of a nasty cold, left with rattling coughs, congested sinuses and earaches. At this point, we had all had enough of winter!
After dropping the boys off at school, I arrived home, crawled back into bed and pulled the duvet up to my nose. This is not how I wanted to start the day.
After all, I had an exciting day ahead of me. I had a coffee date scheduled for 1 p.m. with my mentor and Td been looking forward to it for weeks. I wanted to wake up feeling strong, energized and optimistic, not weak, tired and depressed. I needed to change my momentum; I needed to spend some time with God.
I spent the next hour and a half reading my Bible, reflecting and praying. The last few weeks had been so busy with work and life that I hadn't slowed down and connected with my higher power. I had been racing from one interview to the next, writing story after story, dropping kids off and picking them up/basically creating a whirlwind that was carrying me further and further away from God.
In the peaceful quietness of an empty house, I began to reconnect with the giver of life. I counted my blessings, gave thanks for this life that we get to live, and prayed for strength, energy, and guidance. I asked for my migraine to ease (along with taking an Aleve!) and for a sense of well-being to come over me. As I read, reflected and prayed, I could feel God listening to me. In my stillness before Him, my migraine moved from my eyes to my temples and then disappeared down my neck. The more I connected, the more I yearned for His closeness.
I had pressed the reset button and immediately felt a change in perspective. I could see that this long, snowy winter is almost over. Just a few more weeks and spring will be here. The huge piles of snow that stand like pillars at the end of my driveway will soon melt, the sun will arch higher in the sky, crocuses will stretch up through the frost-bitten dirt and birds will arrive home singing their beautiful songs, announcing the change in seasons. Spring is just around the corner and with it comes a reawakening of everything that's beautiful and warm.
I climbed out of my bed feeling reinvigorated, strengthened and whole again. We are so blessed that we can connect with the Holy Spirit and rely on Him to help us with our needs, no matter how small or big they may be. It is the ultimate gift: unwavering love and support at all times.
I was able to make it to my one o'clock meeting and instead of struggling through with a migraine, I enjoyed it for the blessing that it was. And I realized that sometimes, you really do just need to go back to bed!
