You. Are. Awesome.

Tonight I was honored to speak at the Cary Y Leaders Club inductions ceremony. How do I motivate a group of leaders and also keep the interests of their parents? I was open about the fact that, for most of my life, I have struggled with how to let God decide my self-worth, and not other people. That my mistakes don't define me and that God created me to be uniquely me.

In other words, why do I try so hard to fit in when I was born to stand out?

Tonight I am grateful. In the midst of body pain and hopelessness, I was encouraged and loved by so many families that know me, and so many that became new friends tonight. I have an amazing job that allows me a platform to speak of the love of Jesus Christ.


So here's to encouragement. Here's to those of you following God's plan right where you are: to love Him and love others. 

I am humbled. Thank you, Cary Leaders Club for teaching me something great tonight. And remember: You. Are. Awesome.

-Liz

People plungers.

Friday night I had my friends Hannah and Austin over for dinner and a little backyard bonfire. We have all had crazy weeks, it was great to sit around and do nothing. Our conversation even brought up the question: What is the grossest thing you've ever had to work with or clean up or touch? (This question is important to the story, and is about to have a new answer.)

They left at around 10:30 and I came back into the house to the sound of rushing water. I peaked into my downstairs bathroom and my toilet was...I don't know how to put this...EXPLODING.

And I mean exploding. Like a dirty fountain filled with toilet paper, leaves, pine needles, and a number of other questionably mirky things.

It's great to get to the point where you don't know
how to thank your friends for being your friends.
Side note: we all had to throw our shoes away after
this event on Friday night.

I was standing in a few inches of water in my bathroom and thought: "What do I do?" I didn't even have a plunger.

I simply thought that one of my friends had blown up my bathroom and then high tailed it out of there. But now I have a mess. A HUGE, stinky, mess.

So I called Austin and said "EMERGENCY! Bring a plunger!" She and Hannah were at my house in 5 minutes.

To make a long story short, Hannah's dad had a carpet cleaner (thank God) and we spent the next few hours bailing out the mirky water and floating debris (that's what I am choosing to call it) and waiting for the plumber. Mike the Plumber showed up around 1 am with the tools for the job and some stories that have scarred me for life. (Note: don't ask a plumber about the weirdest thing he's ever seen unless you are prepared to be psychologically changed forever.)  Mike the Plumber's diagnosis is that one of the outside sewer lines had been cracked by tree roots and the pipe was clogged up with roots and debris, causing my toilet to clog up and eventually back up violently right into my house.

I have had some thoughts to think about this event. Strangely enough, it coincides with a hard reality that God has shown me this week. Something I have known for my whole life but am so afraid to admit:

I SUCK AT LETTING PEOPLE IN.

All caps. There, I said it. And maybe this is why I like keeping a blog. I can really bare my soul to everyone, but it's on my terms. In my words. Limited. My way. No surprises.

My back stuff has forced me to rely on others. It has slowed me down. It has made me examine myself and look in the mirror harder than ever. And Friday night was hilarious to me because I was like...embarrassed to ask for help. But I had no other choice. I had to call my friends and they had to come over and stick their hands in my shit (sorry, but seriously, that's what it was) and help me clean it up. There was no way around it.

Reminder: your texts are more
important to people than you think.

I called Austin and Hannah because I thought I just needed to borrow their plunger. That I only needed a tool from them. Austin said it pretty well at the end of the night: "The best part about this, is that you thought all you needed was a plunger."

What I needed was them. It's crazy how we use other people to get what we want, and don't even know it. But Friday, for me, was a funny reminder from God that I need people. And that's not always on my terms or the ways I want it to be. Sometimes people see the parts of me that I don't want anyone to see. And surprise surprise, they love me anyway! In fact, people seem to like knowing these parts of me!

Would I have preferred my toilet to have not exploded? Yes. But did God use it to paint me a picture of why it's necessary to let people in? Yes.

Newsflash: I don't have it all together. And neither do you. So can we stop pretending that we do?

-Liz

For those of us that need a little hope today.

I have developed a pretty structured routine in the morning. Time has to be available for me to get moving and feel ok physically to walk around and be ready for my day. So I decided to also text verses to a few friends out of whatever I am reading in the bible. One of my friends has reciprocated that for me a few times, and here is what she just sent me this morning:

Do you not know? 
Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, 

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,
 
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, 

and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
 
will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40)

As my frustration is growing and my patience is wearing thin, I am amazed at how this promise from God is as true for me today as it was to the world thousands of years ago. This verse reminds me that God is big and I am small. My problems are huge but God is huger (yeah I know it's not a word).

My morning spot on my back porch. Yesterday it was
my spot for 4+ hours. I could have used a lot more
time with God there.

I don't understand why I am still in pain. But according to this verse, maybe I'm not supposed to. All I am supposed to do is hope in the Lord. So today, I will practice that. Because today, I need a little hope.

(side note: yesterday was one of the most emotionally charged days that I've had in a very, very long time. If I am able to sort out what the heck happened, I might be able to write about it one day...)

-Liz

Nothing is wasted.

7am on a Wednesday.

Typically you would find me getting ready to go workout. Or sleeping in if I could. But for a 10am meeting, I have to be up right now. I live 3 miles from the Y, I'm a quick showerer, so why the early rise?

My back injury is the worst in the morning. And I mean, the worst. The steroid shots have helped. I can walk around now, but I am nowhere near where I thought I would be by this point. I had dreams of being able to work out by now. Back in my routine. Better than ever. But I'm not better than ever. Not physically anyway.

Don't worry, I checked. You can't
read my Dear Diary in this photo. I hope.

So when I get up, I can barely walk. My left leg and calf muscle are so tight and in pain that it often wakes me up in the middle of the night (like last night but I watched Sons of Anarchy so it's ok man what a GREAT episode). I've come to realize that in the morning I need to ice my back immediately and take my medicine before I can even shower. Showering is SUPER painful.

And here I am. My new routine. I need to give myself at least two hours in the morning to get ready. I wake up, I hobble downstairs for an ice pack. I make my green smoothie and coffee, take my medicine, and I sit with God. I write to him. I cry to him. I read about him. And I listen to him. It has become a physical necessity for me to start every day this way.

Why did it take a crippling back injury for me to see my need for God like this?

Nothing is wasted. Not even the most painful injury I've ever had (I know that I have been fortunate in life). In this, God is doing something beautiful.

When it comes to God and his meticulous care for us, nothing is wasted.

See you in a couple hours.

-Liz

You don't deserve this.

It's my insides! And needles. Cool.

Do you ever notice how people try to explain death and heartbreak away by blaming it on God? We don't understand why bad things happen to good people. But we don't seem to complain when good things happen to bad people, when good things happen to good people, or when bad things happen to bad people.

I'm just saying...God is not the one behind the crap in our lives. He just isn't.

But I think it's in our DNA to try to assign blame. And I've had a lot of time think about why my back is so screwed up. Why have I been sidelined for months? Why do I have to deal with this? Why me?

We pray, and when God doesn't answer immediately, we either blame God, or think "Well, I must have done something to deserve this."

I'm the first one to admit...the bible is confusing. But that doesn't mean I get to assign my own characteristics of God to match what makes sense to me. God doesn't make sense to me. Because that kind of love doesn't make sense to us. We are much quicker to assign blame to God because it is easier to believe that we deserve heartbreak instead of love.

What the heck?

This back injury is showing me that in action. God didn't "strike me down" because I didn't pray enough one day. He didn't give me this injury to teach me patience. But He is going to make something beautiful out of this crappy season I'm in. 

I get confused by that. I think God is causing me pain. When really...He is gifting me with hope in the MIDST of pain. Think of it this way - you are the victim of a hurricane that devastates you. Your home is destroyed, you lose your home and your possessions. In the middle of the storm, you are rescued, and the storm passes, and you rebuild your home, stronger than ever. God's role in that? Never the storm. Always the rescuer.

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this gracein which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. - Romans 5

I am more hopeful today, after a new treatment plan with my doctors. Today I had a steroid epidural in my spine. It wasn't bad at all! Crazy feeling. So now I wait. I exult in this tribulation, because I know that it leads to hope.

And hope does not disappoint.

-Liz

My kitchen window

I would have to say that a blog isn't worth anything unless I'm willing to blog the ups AND the downs and all the crazy curveballs in between.

My back isn't better. In fact, it's a new strange kind of worse. I have a lot of numbness and weakness in my left leg, walking is difficult, work outs are lame. Today was my first day on the weight room floor in a week. It felt GREAT to be up there, but now I am feeling it in the "please God I hope I didn't overdo it" kind of way.

Party at my house! Sike.

This is my kitchen window sill. I am trying a lot of different doctors. Chiropractors, myofascial release therapy, back specialists, etc. These are all medications that I could take, but am trying my best not to take. I would rather figure out the cause of my pain than medicate it.

Wednesday of next week I am getting a nerve series done on my left leg and hopefully that will show what's happening. If not, it's onto a very expensive MRI and then who knows what...but there is talk of cortisone shots or surgery. If you are a praying person, please pray for me. Until then, I am very limited. There is certainly a silver lining in this cloud, but right now I am pretty much dealing with the cloudy weather.

I'll keep everyone posted. (and P.S. Sunday is pumpkin day at Goodberry's, so get you some. See, I can end this on a positive note!)

-Liz

The view from the sidelines

I am sidelined.

More of the same. Back issue. Not being patient. Becomes another back issue. Not being patient. Becomes a leg issue becomes a nerve issue becomes blah blah blah.

Not the point.

Here's the point: it is good to be sidelined. The view from the sidelines has shown me some amazing things:

1. It has slowed me down. I have had time to rest, to wake up, to sit on my back porch for hours at a time and read my bible, write in my journal, and read a good book. (Love Does, Bob Goff. Get it.)
2. It has given me a better view of the big picture. (note to self: this is a marathon, not a sprint. CHILL OUT.)
3. It has shown me that there are other things than the game that matter. There are the fans, the coaches, the grass, the air, the clouds. (note to self: Even when you are sidelined, the game continues. Therefore, it's not all about me.) 
4. My weight is not the only thing that matters. I matter more to God than anything I can say or do. He loves me right now, where I am, on the sidelines. He doesn't care what the score of the game is. He cares more about how I feel, who I love, and how I love. Not what I can do, not how I can impress Him, not what I can produce. (if you are like me, you might need to read #4 one more time.)

I would like to say with confidence that I am enjoying this "time out." I'm not. It feels like a penalty box and I am clawing my way to get out. But God is saying "Not yet, not yet." I don't know why not yet, but He's the coach, so I can't go till He says it's time. 

This is a process. Like most everything else in life. It's amazing how God is showing me that there really are not checklists when it comes to matters of the heart. I don't care if it's your friendship, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your addictions, your struggles, your loneliness, there is no checklist. And it's naive for me to think that there is. This process goes on because God wants to show me that He loves me every step of the way. In the valley as much as the mountain.

You might be on the sidelines like me. Or, you might be in the game and you're killing it right now. We'll sub in for each other soon enough. But when we do, know that God is with us, behind us, before us, and all around us.

He's tricky like that.

-Liz