26 National Health Blog Post Month posts in 30 Days

The title should read "30 #NHBPM posts in 30 days." The "rules" gave me two days off, if I needed them, so that would have been 28 days. With a holiday and sickness in there, I didn't quite hit my goal, but close.

Life is like that a lot with any chronic condition. You make plans, and do your best to see them through to fruition, but you learn to yield to the demands of your body sometimes. Actually, you don't learn to yield to your health, you just sometimes have no choice in the matter. The choice comes in learning to roll with the punches and in a balanced attitude of fighting when you can and humbly accepting limitations you just can't get past.

I remember when I was trying to learn to walk again (with a cane) 9 to 10 month after strokes, crying to my husband, several months into the pursuit and telling him, "I thought for sure I would be walking by now. If it were just a matter of will power, I would have been walking again, long ago!"

The point is, positive thinking, hard pushing, our very best efforts, and we can still fall short. That's OK. The disappointment is crushing at times, but if we know we are trying our best, to the glory of God, that is all He asks. Others may be let down, or we feel we have failed, but real failure comes not through disappointing people or even failing to meet our own expectations, but through not even trying. When we try, sometimes our efforts still can surprise us, as did this blogging challenge.

I had no idea, when I started the month, exactly why I write (at least hadn't put it down in solid thought), that the story behind my purse was so interesting, that I could find so many reasons for thanks and still feel like I was just scratching the surface, that I would really tell my health what I thought, that I could offer helpful resources and gift ideas for so many different health challenges (infertility, pregnancy loss, chronic illness or stoke), that I could find so much humor in the midst of trials, that I could share advice on dealing with infertility that would draw more readers than any other post in the history of this blog, that I would never look at a Thanksgiving Day the same way, what I would learn about intentional thankfulness, or specific goals for leaving a legacy. The post that surprised me most was that I would end up sharing such personal details of one of the most amazing experiences of my life (or even that I would choose to reveal these facts about my brush with death)!  I've gotten to know my friend, Kendra, so much better through her feedback this month. Thank you WeGo Health for sponsoring this event and challenging me to explore so many areas of my life. I may not have managed 30 post in 30 days, but I am thankful for what you did coax out of my heart!

 ---------------------------------------------
Jennifer Saake's other books and related blogs:

First Published Book: Hannah's Hope : Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HannahsHopeBook

Book-in-progress on drawing on the fruit of the Spirit in times of trial: Harvesting Hope from Heartache or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HarvestingHope

Next book-in-progress: 6 strokes at age 39, Stroke of Grace or look on Facebook under "Stroke of Grace by Jennifer Saake"

Future manuscript in the plans: Given Me a Thorn, the apostle Paul's story as applicable to living with chronic illness, or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GivenMeaThorn