~During this month, I will have guest blogs from friends, family, and loved ones about how My Mended Heart has impacted them. Today's blog is written by my sister-in-law Tate Ballance. I hope you enjoy!~
I love the quote from Micah’s book, My Mended Heart, on page 56 about the inner narrative being negative:
“When our inner narrative is negative, we’re under the influence of a lie. We’re no longer controlling our story; it’s controlling us. When our thoughts are dominated by anxiety and fear of the future, we are being ruled by that anxiety and fear. So, what do you do? Challenge every thought. Write them down and investigate them later when you have quiet time. In this introspection, find the truth and the comfort that comes in the presence of Jesus.”
One night as I was journaling before bed, I wrote down my stream of worries and negative thoughts to get them out of my head and onto the page for relief. I wrote about an event coming up that I was concerned about. I wrote of my relationships and what a failure I was with them. I wrote of my past failures and how they still weighed down on me. Then, as I read it over, I recognized what was pouring out of me were lies and that my life was going well; my relationships could be improved, but they were not near as dismal as I’d thought. I saw how my need for control of the future events was stealing my peace in the moment.
I then journaled about my desire to be free from worry and to become carefree as I put my trust in the only One who can bring peace beyond understanding. After journaling, I snuggled in with Micah’s book and the first quote I read was the one above from page 56; it spoke of negative thoughts and being free from the lies that so often bring us down. I was so comforted to know that I wasn’t the only one who struggled with these frailties of being human. It gave me hope for a future more centered on all that God has for me.
No more will I be ruled by anxiety and fear of failure, but by feeling comforted and supported, knowing that good can come out of the hard circumstances. I appreciate Micah and the honesty she shared in her book through her thoughts on life. I feel inspired to begin anew tomorrow knowing that the strength will be there to live carefree.
Written by Tate Ballance
#InnerNarrative #MyMendedHeart #Inthesendingcomesthemending
Thank you for sharing. It’s so easy to get caught up in what we think we are “supposed” to be. We are all still growing and becoming who we are meant to be. I’m with you throwing out the anxiety and fear!
Tate, I was glad to see that you find a meaningful therapeutic value to journaling. From the moment my wife was diagnosed with brain cancer, through the many months as her primary caregiver (to include under Hospice supervision until her final breath), and during the initial several months following her death, there were two things I did which brought me great Peace and composure.
One was frequent, spontaneous prayer, conversational in nature and always spoken aloud. The other was that I kept a journal of every detail along the way, and I shared it via e-mail with a large number of friends and relatives.
Just to write down what I was experiencing on paper was therapeutic in itself, as if…
How well I can relate to the comment about “ the lies pouring out of me” versus reality.
You are right Tate. Time to stop the lies from stealing my peace.