Another cycling night here…who am I becoming, seriously?

To make the night interesting, I decided I’d ride in stealth mode.

Well, stealth until I donned on my hot pink CamelBak and riding gloves. A little pop of color never hurt anything except your cover.

Also, considering the number of bugs that I ate tonight, I can’t in good conscience call myself a vegetarian anymore, whether or not it was intentional. Note to self: KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.

I wanted to do 25-30 miles, but I got out of work late, so I only did 20. Next time, next time.

Also it’s probably a good thing I didn’t go longer because I’m running low on sleep.

This morning Dave woke me up around 4 am with a swollen tongue. Yup, ER trip for Dave. No sleep for Abby. Allergist search for both of us.

Allergic reactions are so nerve wracking, especially because we have no idea what has been causing them. I honestly feel blind—no idea what lays ahead, where the enemy is lurking or what the enemy is. Say a pray for Dave (and me) while we search for some answers. His crazy allergic reactions are becoming more frequent. We obviously need some answers pronto.

For now, I’m super-gluing Dave’s EpiPen to his body.

Oh, hey! Remember this? Let’s get started again…

30 Day Challenge

Day 17

Highs and Lows of this past year.

That’s tough just because I’ve had a good year!

Dave and I bought and house and I ran a marathon. I went on a cool vacation and some mini trips, too. I made new friends.

One thing that really stands out is a broken relationship that began to mend. Dave and I had a very strained relationship with someone for years, and seemed to be an almost constant source of stress. Last summer we said enough was enough. We say down with this person and, in love, told them how we felt, what this person does that hurts us and what our expectations are.

I can’t even begin to articulate how HUGE this moment was for the two of us (but I’ll try). I’m terrible with confrontation. I don’t like to rock the boat, so I tend to avoid conflict. This means that I let issues eat at me and when they finally come to the surface, I explode in either rage or tears. Knowing this about myself, I tend to force myself to “get over it,” instead of working it out.

Dave handles conflict a little differently—he lacks tact and filter. Where I’m reluctant to say much of anything, he says too much.

We knew our weaknesses going into this situation and had close friends and family praying for us. And I’ll tell you what, friends—it was a God thing!

We had a conversation like we would with good friends over coffee. And not only did God help us handle the situation with grace, but he also softened the other person’s heart to be receptive. Since then the change has been phenomenal. The relationship, while not ideal, is steadily improving and I am so thankful that God gave us the courage to do that.

Since that moment I’ve learned that confrontation is a good thing. Human beings are relational people; relationships are not meant to be broken. Speaking up in love and standing up for yourself, and voicing your expectations can have such a positive impact on painful relationships.

Also, you have to communicate. Someone might not know what they have done. They might not realize they need to apologize or perhaps things just need to clarified. Communication is key! Passive aggressiveness and ignoring the problem are terrible ways to deal with interpersonal problems. No matter how justified you may be in your anger and hurt, when you treat someone like that, you no longer are justified: you become the person needing to apologize.

Also through the situation I’ve learned that it’s not our job to “fix” people. The person we had to confront had problems, but that’s not my place to play the counselor. My place is to express my feelings and expectations respectfully and lovingly and not let the hurt turn into bitterness. It’s hard not to try to control the people and situations that hurt us, but it’s God’s place to change hearts. I have no power in that area. The only things I can control are my actions and attitude.

Soooooo…that doesn’t exactly answer the question, but it was a huge lesson that I am thankful I learned in the past year!

What’s a valuable lesson you have learned in the past year?