I never spoke the significance of the day aloud.
To friends.
To family.
To Leif.
Even to myself.
But the date didn’t escape my notice.
I suspect that combination of month and numeral never will.
The anniversary of my cancer diagnosis is branded into my mind, body and soul. I refused to utter its presence aloud for fear the bright summer day would be taken siege by an emotional downpour.
Yet two years after hearing the “C” word, persevering through brutal treatments, and discovering how to fight back with joy, I see new sprigs of life, fresh leaves of hope, delicate blossoms of compassion spouting forth.
Much has changed over the last two years.
Here are a few highlights:
1. My gratitude-o-meter pegs higher.
Thankfulness doesn’t feel as forced, manufactured, or obligatory. Gratitude flows from deeper reserves where all has been stripped away. I find myself more thankful for what others will deem tiny, thin, insignificant. Every breath provides reason to give praise.
2. Priorities recalibrate themselves.
Bookshelves of management books abound.They provide secrets on how to develop 30 minute work weeks and become twice as productive overnight. I’ve read most of them. In no particular order. At any given time. Because I’m a disaster prioritizer. A snapshot of my mind:
Ooh! Squirrel. Ooh! Chipmunk. Ooh! Let’s open a zoo. Wait, I don’t know anything about opening a zoo, but let’s research koalas for fun. And kangaroos. They’re cute, too. Did you know there’s a woman who works at Chicos in Salt Lake City that trains service kangaroos? We should go visit her the next time we’re in town.
But over the last two years, I’ve learned something about prioritizing that those business books could never teach: the secrets of what’s truly important in life. These truths are expressed by many, but somehow they must be fortified in the human heart before they lead to transformation:
Time is our greatest asset.
People our greatest treasure.
Christ our only Savior.
3. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Much too little is made of the power of joy and laughter and play. I find myself walking lighter, living brighter. One of the most important tactics of fighting back with joy is not taking yourself too seriously. It’s a portal to breakthrough.
And you don’t need to have a major loss or illness or pain in order to take yourself less serious.
You simply need to give yourself permission to be goofy. Try something new. Do activities that you’re not good at and laugh at yourself along the way.
Drop the pretense of perfection.
Stop trying to hide your weaknesses.
Quit trying to hold it all together.
One of the things I noticed over the years is that so many Christian t-shirts are so serious and sometimes harsh. So in order to not take myself too seriously, we created some t-shirts that capture expressions of faith with playfulness and delight.
They caught on with young and old around the country.
Most of all, we were SHOCKED when wives started ordering them for their husbands.
If you’re ready to take yourself a little less seriously, consider picking up one of our God Bless This Hot Mess T-shirts or I May Be Cray Cray But God Loves Me Anyway today. As a special gift, use code HOTMESS to save 10% off your order through August 1.
Shop here.
And remember, your next breakthrough may hinge on you taking yourself more less seriously.
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