Balancing Work and Life: What’s Happening Now (1/29/2025)

This blog post is a bit different as I am giving an open and honest life update.  I share a lot of scripture and information here that might make it look like I have my life all together.  The truth is that I do not!

I do take time each morning for prayer and scripture with God.  I'm working on learning to trust His Will for me.  I have not been able to figure out what it is as I'm not supposed to figure it out! I'm supposed to let God take the lead and submissively follow.  I'm not good at submissively following.

Last week, I made my return to the Columbus office.  I got down the street and realized I forgot my travel mug so I came back home to get it.  Upon coming out of the garage, I saw I had a headlight out.  I know this is illegal and I don't know when it went out.  If the car can tell me there might be ice on the road why can't it tell me that I have a headlight out?  Anyhow, I took it to Valvoline Instant Oil Change in Lewis Center so it could be be fixed.  The young man tried but he said there was a support bar in his way.

I called my husband on my way home and told him that I felt I had no choice but to go to the local mechanic ER Autocare.  Jon said it is fine.  I told him that he was taking the Jeep over to make sure I got a fair price. Apparently changing a headlight on a Jeep Compass requires removing the front bumper. I'll make a long story short - a walk to Crossfit class and over $300 later, I got my Jeep back.  Jon was sitting in my Jeep when I walked out of the gym.  I motioned for him to get out of the driver's seat. I wanted to pull my Jeep into the garage as I need go around my son's dead SUV that is residing in part of the driveway. I'm grateful that God's Will was not for my Jeep to end up like my son's SUV! Yes, I'm trying to look at the silver lining to my expensive car repair situation.

Our head coach Michael has been programming extra credit to improve our bench press and jump rope skills.  Like most everyone, I've focused on bench press. My friends Kathy, Jodi and Dawn have done extra credit benching with me.  My shoulders felt terrible after Monday's workout. I walked to class but no on my hands!! After work on Tuesday, I went to open gym to do my bench press extra credit. I felt like giving up after benching the 35# bar but I didn't.  I stopped after set 5 of 10 bench presses at 52.5# which I struggled to lift. The soreness was horrible so I doused myself in "Icy Hot" when I got home.  Later on in the evening, I realized that my hands and fingers felt numb.  I woke up a few times during the night feeling tingling and numbness.  I am scheduled to see our gym PT Carlin on Friday for an assessment.  I let Coach Michael and my friends Kathy & Jodi know that I've paused bench press extra credit.

My husband did not know about the numbness in my hands and fingers until Wednesday because he was at a boy scout function all Tuesday night.  I don't know if he would have still brought home dirty dish towels for me to wash if he'd known about the numbness.  For the record, the dish towels are no longer dirty; I just have to fold them and work with Jon to get them returned to the scout church.  Oh, I also have the laundry I did on Tuesday night that remains to be folded.  

The week has been particularly challenging due to unexpected work stressors that arose earlier in the week, specifically on Tuesday and Wednesday. These issues have put a strain on my usual workflow and made completing tasks much harder than anticipated. When technology functions as it should, it can be a tremendous asset, making our jobs easier and more efficient. However, when something goes wrong, it can create significant frustration and delays. Unfortunately, this has been my experience lately. Troubleshooting problems and trying to get everything back to normal has been quite difficult and time-consuming. Instead of being able to focus on my work, I find myself stuck dealing with tech issues that take away from my productivity. It’s been a frustrating few days, leaving me eagerly hoping for a smoother path ahead.

As I write this, I am mentally and physically exhausted.  I need God's REST.  During my prayer this morning, I told God that I don't know what His Will is for me but I need his help.  Perhaps His Will was making the PT appointment and taking a break from the bench press extra credit. Is His Will only fixing one part of a two part dashboard? I'm not sure about what one yet but it sure feels like it.

If you made it this far, thank you!  I know this isn't my normal inspirational blog post. I felt a need to "keep it real" so you all know that I am a human being and not some machine cranking out blog material. 

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