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Welcome Back!

You are seeing less of me these days, whether in person or virtually. I have committed myself to the call that God has defined in my life.

Do you have a vision hiding in day-to-day busyness? Don’t we all?

Part of my commitment includes learning to write fiction. Fiction will allow me to convey life lessons that I have learned without identifying anyone.

I used to lose myself in performances; now I sit and study. I see sets, actors, and writing like never before. I plan to write screenplays, but I feel a solid novel is essential to attain the quality I am pursuing.

I know 2020 was a year of loss for many. I feel for the hurting, whether physically, emotionally, financially, relationally, or however pain may have manifested. So many people endured regular life crises like divorce, diagnoses, loss of loved ones, and depression during the pandemic—hard stuff.

For many, the forced shutdown led to a season of personal growth. 2020 was the best year of my life. Being ordered out of my routine allowed discomfort that led me to a place where I began to discover and love myself. I made healthier decisions, formed new and lost unhealthy habits. I started a new journey, 52 years into my life.

I know I’m not alone.

For many of us, the time to ponder and try things like baking bread, growing kombucha, and setting up a home gym for zoom classes, were opportunities that our previous lifestyles did not permit.

The stillness of the worldwide shut down revealed spaces in my life that were simply inaccessible at my previous pace. The speed at which I was living left me disconnected from the wonder of the world around me.

Having been in recovery for many years,

• • I have learned to live with intention.
  • I avoid things that do not serve God’s purpose for me.
  • I developed margin in my life, which comes from space.
  • I learned the value of margin on a yoga mat while I was recovering from cancer. If I elongate my spine, planting my tail bone into the mat while lifting my head’s crown, I will create space in my body. The stretching creates space and enabling oxygen to fill the lungs more effectively with the life-giving breath.

Areas of my body that would otherwise atrophy with age began to lengthen. During my cancer treatment, my height went from 5’3 to 5’4.

Setting aside time to create space required me to be intentional about making time to stretch and breathe. Before my cancer treatment, I was unaccustomed to taking time to care for my body. So many of us run our bodies ragged, requiring illness to convince us to rest. Spending a year in bed fighting stage 3 cancer taught me that incredible lesson.

COVID was a gentle reminder for me of the value of stillness. The downtime offered many opportunities for faith and thankfulness despite not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

I intentionally left The Diary of Anne Frank on the tabletop, preventing me from being tempted to complain about being quarantined, with music and internet, in my house.

Once again, something I would never have chosen reminded me of the importance of space. This time, I was not fighting a life-threatening illness. Like many people, I had to abandon the regular activities and commitments that previously dictated my days. The quarantine thrust stillness upon many. Having had so much downtime, I am now reluctant to commit to anything that will take me away from my newly embraced expansion.

To be with God, to be with ourselves, and to be with loved ones has become a significant priority in my life. COVID forced me to discover the essence of just being.

How about you? Are you incorporating “just being” in your life? Please sign up for my mailing list so I can let you know when new content is being released to refresh your soul.

Please take some time and enjoy the Bold Mercies Podcast with Heather Jonnson that I was featured on April 9, 2021. http://heatherjjonsson.com/boldmercies/