Thankfulness & Pain

I’m gonna be real with y’all today. July is swiftly coming to a close, and it goes down as probably the hardest and possibly one of the sweetest months of my life. God has been turning things upside down for me.

I mentioned in my last post that I was having a really hard time finding a local job that was worth taking. Only three days after I posted that, I got a call from a company for an interview, and a week and a half later I had started my new job! It’s at a company that does ridiculously high end projection systems for companies all over the states, and I’m an administrative assistant.

The new job. Two giant monitors and lots of windows.

I know that God orchestrated my getting this job, because it was so different than any of my other experiences looking for jobs here.

It’s definitely been a big adjustment to go back to full time after working from home and being able to keep any schedule I wanted, but it’s a blessing for me mentally and for us financially so I am trying my best to be thankful in every moment of it! 

Summer evenings.

I’ve also been trying harder to make the most of my time outside of work. At my last job I felt like I would just chill after work and not do much that was worthwhile, but this time around Miles and I have been doing different projects, walking the dogs, and pursuing our hobbies much more intentionally. I’m thankful for that.

I still get to see my Trepster, even if it's not as often. We do dinner now after our ride since it's so late.

What’s been really painful over the past month has been my stomach. I’ve struggled with indigestion and throwing up at different times the past three and a half years, ever since my last year of college when I had three jobs, graduated a year early, and planned our wedding from across the country. Whoops. Over the past six months or a year it’s been much better, thankfully, and I’ve had hardly any nausea compared to what I used to experience.

Unfortunately though, a month ago, right after I started my job, I took pain medicine too many days in a row out of pure ignorance and really messed up my stomach. I ended up in the ER one day after I couldn’t stop throwing up and throwing up.

Misery.

Anyway, the past month has been a slow road to recovery and it looks like I’ve got a couple more months to go. I have lots of good days, but there have been days when I’ve opened the pantry and broken down in tears because I don’t know what a meal will do to me, and there have been afternoons at work when I have to stay professional and work hard in spite of pain and fear.

Strangely, this is one of the best cures for my stomach right now. "With the Mother." Haha.

But in spite of the turmoil, it’s been one of the sweetest months of my life with God and several other relationships in my life. He’s been drawing me in to a certain place for the past few months, but in my pain and fear I was there immediately: there’s been nothing I want more. 

It’s pretty amazing and humbling to be able to see why God is bringing you a trial while you’re in the midst of it. I probably won’t have the whole picture for a long time, but the relationships now are completely worth it. The real, in the moment, in my flesh lessons about who God is and how he sees me have been completely worth it. 

Colorado mountain-towning with my parents :)

So, that’s what’s been going on lately. We also got an AMAZING 10 day trip to see both of our parents in Texas and Colorado, and we’ve had lots of hanging out with friends and deepening those new relationships. We are so beyond thankful for our small group at church.

Miles replaced the clutch of his car with two awesome guys from our small group. It's a blessing to have other serious car enthusiasts! They also work at GM :)

Even the puppies are making new friends :)

Also, yesterday was our THREE YEAR anniversary!!  I am so in love with my husband, more than ever and I’m so thankful for him. Miles is my best friend, my biggest supporter and encourager, my leader, my love. I pray that we can have at least 70 more years together. That would only make me 94. Totally doable.

My honey on our week of summer vacation.

And that’s all for now. If anyone is still reading this blog after a crazy spring/summer where I hardly posted, get ready for some fun projects on here. With working it’s fun to have a little more in the budget for projects, and I’m in great need of creativity outside of work to stay sane!!