This morning I got myself out of bed by just after 5am and went out on a 6km walk. I even managed to add in some tiny bursts of jogging, or probably more correctly termed a shuffle. Now if I had written this statement down 2 years ago as something that I would be able to do, I would not have believed that it was at all possible. Two years ago I was really unwell and any form of exercise or movement just resulted in too much pain that I didn’t feel I could push through. I could manage a walk to the letterbox and back and sometimes down my short street, but it was a struggle.
So what has changed you might be thinking? It was a series of tiny tiny steps that led and will continue to lead to bigger and bigger steps. Unexpectedly in early 2017, my 50th birthday year, I was diagnosed with uterine cancer. It hit me hard and I know my prayer times became more like buckets of tears than much dialogue. In some respects I was glad that finally something had been identified as I had felt so unwell for a period of time. But on the other hand I was scared about what was ahead. I had a pretty rough time with specialists who took one look at my size and put me in the too hard basket before we even started. I had an operation which went well, but subsequent to this the large wound got infected and it took some time to heal.
I remember a few days after the operation waking one morning with a deep sense of knowing, that despite the fear, the pain, the difficulty I was going through right at that moment that I had been gifted another opportunity at life. I needed to STEP UP to the NEW. It was hard, soooooooooooo hard and my faith was battered but our God never fails us, nor does He forsake us. He will be faithful to perform His word.
#mightyDeborahs in our darkest hour we must hold on to Him who is able to keep us from falling and sustain us with His grace. Our head may feel foggy, our heart burdened, and all we may feel like doing is just crawling back in to our bed, but dear #mightyDeborah please do keep STEPPING IT OUT: millimetre by millimetre if you need to and then that can grow to kilometre by kilometre – figuratively and literally.
Some weeks after the operation and then after further surgery to restitch some of the wound, I was at the point where I could take some steps again without pain. I put on my sports shoes and headed out the door. I made it just past the letterbox. In the following weeks I could manage to go down the road and back. Some days I pushed myself too hard and too soon so then I would need a few days to recover. But as best as I was able, which at times seemed so ‘small and insignificant’, I kept stepping it out. It is just over 8 months now since I started a regular walking habit – building up to 4 or 5 times a week and gradually increasing my distance and speed.
#mightyDeborah whatever it is that you are going through my encouragement to you today is KEEP STEPPING IT OUT!
Keep stepping it out with your physical health, keep stepping it out with your business journey, keep stepping it out in your walk of faith, keep stepping it out in your difficult and challenging circumstances.
KNOW THIS: that God has your back 1000%. He is a good God and His plans for your life are far beyond what you can see right now. #mightyDeborah you are amazing!
Love Maree x
