One Beautiful Life-Guest Post

Although we met only a mere 4 months ago, I feel as though we have known each other a life time. Our similarities are so great that even our children have the same names. Her name is Krista, but I call her my sister in Christ because that how dear she is to me. Today, we are switching places...her over at my blog...and me, thousands of miles away publishing in the beautiful United Kingdom. You will love her adventures of following her musician husband from Canada to the UK. Her life of constant change while raising two beautiful children. Her Ella is even more beautiful than my own Ella as she was blessed with an extra chromosome. One thing is for sure...you are bound to be blessed by this One Beautiful Life.

One Beautiful Life (By, Krista Ewert)

When I was in eleventh grade I sprained my ankle. I rolled it while running through a forest. For many, this would be a mere inconvenience but for me, it put my life on hold as any time outside of school was spent at the dance studio. Four days a week, for three hours a day, I danced. It was what I loved. It is where I knew confidence, control and beauty and suddenly, I was forced to sit on the sidelines. It was torture and I wanted to hurry the healing process along. I did physiotherapy exercises, iced it, heated it: anything that would help…for a time. But it wasn't long before I got restless and needed to get back at it. I bore the pain and got back on pointe before my ankle was fully healed. I danced through the pain hastily and recklessly and eventually developed tendonitis. Only recently, years after the original injury can I be on my feet all day and not have my ankle stiffen up swollen with pain.

Last year, I was also wounded but it was not my body that was hurt rather, my heart. I can't tell you one incident that caused the pain, it happened over a long cold Alberta winter filled with anxiety, grief and mistrust. I felt that God had betrayed me, He had left me to die and I hated Him.

But when my heart failed me, my head kept reason and I knew deep down that God still loved me. I just needed time. In order to heal, I knew that a scab needed to form, new skin tissue to grow and the nerves to mend. I relinquished the expectations that I had placed on myself - expectations of daily devotion, prayer, scripture reading and service. It's not that I gave up these things completely but I relinquished the legalistic standards that I had place on myself. I embraced our move to Cambridge, England as a chance to take the time I needed to heal. 

It has almost been one year and while the feeling has started to come back to my heart I still have a long way to go. I long for God to fully redeem our relationship but I know that if I rush or fake the healing that needs to take place to restore our relationship, I may find myself still in pain years down the road, much like my ankle.

For now, I just need time to be.

About Krista:

Life is meant to be shared. We are not called to struggle in solitude or rejoice silently, but as a community celebrate the beauty in this One Beautiful Life. I am, like so many of you, a woman, a wife, a mother and a friend and have been given a voice. A voice to reach out, a voice to stand up for what I believe in and a voice to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I write to inspire and encourage as I share my passion for food, photography, travel, children with special needs and all other beautiful blessings in this life. So come on over and take a look! Let's share this One Beautiful Life together.