My Standing Woman Story!

Life has had a way of knocking me down and kicking my behind, over and over.

You could say I’m a bit stubborn, and I had to learn some big lessons the hard way.

When I got knocked down I kept trying to get up and fix it. I did my best to stay strong, to keep going, to make it better, and to overcome. Sometimes when I got knocked down I stood up again easily. And sometimes I lost heart, and didn’t get back up again, for a long time.

The bigger the hit was to me, the more intense the learning was in order to overcome. Things like losing a wanted pregnancy, leaving a church group that was a big part of my life. Stepping away from unhealthy relationships and so much more. The lessons seemed to have higher stakes the older I’ve gotten. And bigger rewards each time I grow, and overcome!

I had to Pause to see it!

Losing a wanted baby was devastating to me.

Stepping away from relationships and the church I was deeply involved with was like losing my family.

Cancer diagnosis and treatment was such a scary time, I felt like I was fighting for my life!!

Each of these things brought me very low. It was tempting to give over to the heartbreak. Digging deeper is how I found myself again.

It was in this pause that came an opening for my mind & heart space to begin to recover. In the quiet - I found some amazing tools to help me through. Taking a pause & tuning in to my spirit gave me time to heal.

• The book Leaving the Saints, by Martha Beck - was like soothing water to my thirsty soul. Different church, similar impact. This book - helped me to move forward, lighter.
• Meditation slowed me down. And helped me to tune in.
• Energy Work taught me to be present in my body.
• I continued to ask deep questions in prayer like -

Why am I here?

What is really true in this situation?

What did I come here to do?

What's the lesson in all of this?

These questions were a driving force for me to keep going. Even when the answer wasn’t clear to me yet.

What Became Clear...

Do you remember that saying - If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything?

I fell for a lot. After spending 17 years learning to follow, I decided It was time to Stand up!

I just needed to figure out how to stand.

When things were so painfully and obviously wrong, and there seemed no way around the decision but to step away from a church family that had occupied my life. It was one of the hardest decisions of my life. I had to stand up and do what was best for myself and my family.

It all also hit me like a ton of bricks when another major life hurdle - Cancer showed up. The radiation was brutal. It seemed to blast the life out of me every single session I went to. Only the very necessary, most important things got my time and attention. I was Stopped - Literally! It was at that time of being stopped that I could see how silly all my efforts were to fix everything.

My Mindset FLIP

The FIX-IT mindset had been the loudest theme of my life. It was the mode that I jumped into, to try to make sense of everything. And is a hard habit to break. On days that I have lots of energy the old patterns jump right back in to play.

FLIPPING that around, and letting go of trying to fix everything was very challenging. I had to learn to stop, and let my true feelings, the nudges in my heart, and the whispers of spirit come forward and lead me. Now I pause and tune into my body & honor the messages there like…

• STOP NOW
• Rest
• Nap
• Have some fun
• Make sleep a priority
• Eat clean
• Move my body
• YES or NO to what choices are before me

These nudges are a gift to me and now, I’m choosing to pay attention. The more I honor what comes up while tuning in - the clearer the messages become. I STAND UP for what’s best for me! Not everyone else.

And the FLIP is - now I notice what my heart is trying to say. No longer motivated to just fix it, or to fit in. I take action to honor what comes up, and I wrestle through the hard times, until I find my way to STAND!

Now it's time to Stand and Be Myself!

Have you considered....

How can you can STAND?

Let's Be The Standing Woman!

Gina

Gina Perkins