“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded”. On Monday morning I pondered on these words as I read scripture to start my day. I found myself eventually gravitated to 2 Chronicles 15:7. Now before I continue please note that I am in no way someone who knows how to spit out scripture in a moment’s notice. Like others who take the time to study a craft like coding or Google Analytics, you practice and study notes so that’s what I wanted to do, but with my faith. Coming off of a crazy last year, one of my key mantras this year is Don’t Give Up so when I saw scripture that pointed to this idea it served as a necessary reminder.

To back up a bit, I recently had surgery to remove my thyroid and I’ve had to learn how to deal with something I’ve never had to deal with before…shutting up. Mainly because now my voice is very hoarse (it’s temporary) causing me to have limited speaking capabilities, but it’s allowed me to pause and breath as well as take in moments around me with more poignant attention. Attention around things like:

-       writing down scripture instead of just reading it in order to think on it further

-       before walking out of my apartment, opening up my blinds to allow for more sunshine to come in

-       playing NPR news on my alexa even for a few minutes in order to capture what’s going on outside my bubble

-       attempting to practice tai-chi, but truthfully it just turns into slo-mo cardio kickboxing moves

-       eating a fruit

-       throwing away a ton of papers and receipts from years ago that no longer serve a purpose

-       only placing a limited number of books on my shelf to reflect books I’ve read/actually plan to read this year (total less than 10)

Now you may be saying, Flora aren’t you taking time off to heal from your surgery which allows you more time to do all these things anyway? I say…YES of course it does, but I’ve started doing many of these steps for a week and once I return back to work and am full swing ahead with business and everything else in between I could seeing myself falling back into my old routines. However, I don’t want to give up because in the long run this work will be rewarded and it’s starting to show – a reward of continued self-love. With that said, I encourage you to check me when I screw up, seriously! No one is perfect nor should you ever try to be. You just have to do it and aim to live the best version of yourself each day at a time, even if it’s a small step you take daily that grows from the previous one.

This could mean making up your bed, opening up your blinds, jogging, buying one less coffee drink, painting that portrait you’ve put on hold, or submitting that resume to that job you’ve feared of being rejected from. DON’T…GIVE…UP. Please let me know how we can support and check one another because life is crazy, but it gets a bit better when you have someone that says let me be someone to support and check you. So with that said, what are your little daily moments that help your day get a little better?

Message me directly at flora@coragedolls.com or comment on our Insta or Facebook page!