The Phoenix Is Rising ~~ Three things to do after you crash and burn!
So after listening for a few minutes
to all the banter about how the world is going
someplace…
really fast…
my daughter, in all her early teenage wisdom and humor,
lifted her index finger,
and
quietly with a cheerful tone in her voice
said,
“But the Phoenix is rising!”
Now you probably know without me telling you, that the Phoenix is that mystical bird in Greek mythology that has a majestic way of recreating himself and rising from the ashes every time he crashes and burns.
This morning as I waded through my latest series of disappointments,
I kept hearing my daughter’s soft but cheery voice say,
“But the Phoenix is rising!”
After blogging since 2008, with a blog which was hacked and taken from my possession for several weeks in 2011, and then in 2015 my dear daughter in law, building me a website as her Senior project for her degree in Marketing and Graphic Design…and now this, being on the phone for an hour and 20 minutes with tech support and realizing that my website (that she had spent a semester working on) was gone…I was heart sick.
GONE!?
GONE!!??
I wanted to throw in the towel.
Or maybe actually…throw up in a towel!
Give up!
I’m tired.
Tired of the stuff life has thrown my way…
and your way…
Sometimes one more thing is just too much…
in the grand scheme of life.
And I know its “JUST A WEBSITE” as some would say.
But sometimes it’s the little things that push you to a breaking point, right?
I wasn’t walking around screaming and crying.
That’s not my way.
But I was heartsick…
like other things that hit you in the pit of your stomach.
“Why, why am I doing this?”, I asked myself.
But that little flicker of something rose up inside of me and said,
“I’m better than this new disappointment.
I’m bigger than this fresh loss.
And it might have me down,
but it’s NOT gonna keep me down.”
So help me!!
“NO!”
I will not stay down.
So y’all…here I go again.
It’s raw.
It’s rugged.
It’s simply ashes.
But I’m coming up again.
It’s not the site I had before,
but I’m learning and I’m growing
and I can rise again.
Some of you have been with me since 2008…from the VERY first post.
THANK YOU from the depths of my heart.
You are my tribe
(or maybe my peeps, using the Phoenix analogy)
and I love you dearly.
So this is what I have to offer today.
If you are experiencing loss…pain… discouragement…
I offer you this in the ashes.
1. Assess why you are in the situation you are in.
2. Have patience to understand the options you may have available.
3. Take one baby step in the right direction.
One step in the right direction,
leads to another until you will feel the wind under your wings and you will rise…
So this blog post…
this little scraggly one right here…
it’s my baby step…
in a new direction…
Rachel, I am so so so sorry about your blog! But I am equally thankful you are not quitting! We need to hear your voice! So thank you for taking that first baby step! Just keep on! Love you!
Ah Esther, Thank you for the kind words and encouragement. You are so sweet. I love you too.
Looking good so far!
Interesting pic with the visible ‘Bon Voyage’!
Farewell to the ashes? Nothing but smooth sailing ahead!
Yours Truly!!! Yes!! Absolutely!! I wondered if anyone would pick up on the ‘Bon Voyage’! I thought that you would. You know me well! I did that absolutely on purpose!! Thank you so much for the encouragement! xoxoxoforeverandalwaysyoursxoxoxo
I’m sorry you have had to start all over. God does help us come up from the many trials we encounter along life’s road. Keep the Phoenix flying upward!
Love you. Donnie
Thank you Donnie. Yes, God is awesome! Love you too, Rachel
Way to conjure up that fighting spirit and keep on keeping on. I can relate to the adage that it’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. Or the last straw. I am a jinx with anything technological or mechanical or electric and some days the struggle gets to be almost enough for me to throw up in the towel. But good one us that we get up and have another go.
Leslie, Thank you for your encouraging words. I’m figuring out a way to regroup and move on.
Rachel
I try believe words are like the medicine we need at just the right time. I must admit that when I wrote for newspapers I kept every single article. So when the cleaning out decision had to be made I surrendered. In addition I took a scrapbook of historical even newspapers to the local library to use in displays, or not. And asked them not to tell me the “not.” Most of our words dissappear as soon as they come out of our mouth but many touch hearts, mend pain, soothe tears. And in the midst of writing them we also grow, heal, and remember. Your writing has touched me and many others. That is not gone. You shared your heart. That is not gone. Your desire to write, to help, that is not gone. I texted my husband’s cousin a few weeks after her husband of 44 years died at too young an age. I just said, Thinking of you today ” Her reply was ‘A few words that mean so much.’ When you write a blog I hear your sweet spirit say “I’m thinking of you today.” Your few words that means much to many. I feel your pain but, out of those ashes I can’t wait to read what God brings from your heart. I will be watching for it with anticipation.
Regina, thank you so much for your thoughtful and kind words of understanding and wisdom. I have been asking myself (and God), “So what’s next? What do I have to say to anyone?”… we will see. Thank you again.