LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  236

(April 29, 2009)

Someone sent me a quote awhile ago by Patricia Deegan that I really like. It’s really speaking to me now: “For those of us who have struggled for years…recovery is not about going back to who we were. It is a process of becoming new. It is a process of discovering our limits but also a process of discovering how these limits open upon new possibilities. Transformation rather than restoration becomes our path.”

Today I wonder if I’m trying to reach beyond my limits – beyond what I can or should be doing.

I have a terrible time with tremors, caused by one of the meds I’m on. My doctor is working on getting me off this medication. However, my moods have been very unstable. If you’ve been reading my blog you’ll know that I’ve been on a roller coaster. Fine one day and depressed the next. Maybe I should just live with the tremors and opt for the stability and happiness this drug has offered me in the past.

Today I chaired an important meeting and, although I felt confident, I was shaking like crazy. Not everyone at this meeting knew me, so they must have had their doubts about me and my abilities. It does not look good for a leader to have tremors. It does not help people have confidence in you. And when I’m aware of them myself, I feel self-conscious which isn’t good either.

And I wonder if all the stress that goes along with meetings like these, especially when I’m so emotionally unstable, is a good thing for my health. Maybe I should just dig in and quietly do my work at home, writing. Spread the news about Living Room that way. Am I thinking negatively once more? Am I once more dipping downward? I think I may be.

If I could only be stronger instead of having emotions that are constantly teetering on the verge of something.

I know one thing. I could never have brought Living Room to where it is without God’s help. Living Room is God’s work and I’ve just been a foot soldier, going where he told me to go. I need to continue putting myself in his hands and hear his voice and have him guide me. I need to relax and let go a bit. And I need to pray.

Maybe I’ve reached my limit and God wants to open new paths for me to follow. I’ll have to see and be open to his leading.

Would I ever like to be stable and strong again!