This is the 2nd person this week who has been shocked or impressed with my story. I didn’t think it has been anything special. But looking at it from someone else’s point of view, maybe it is.
I student taught right after Covid fall 2020 into spring 2021. I have taught four and a half years at four different schools. I have also taught four different grades and one different specialty in those four and a half years. I have moved from Nebraska to Iowa for my first job and then back to Nebraska two years later.
I have had gallstones and had my gallbladder removed with surgery, while being a teacher. I have dealt with chronic fatigue, hormonal imbalances, and so much more before finally being diagnosed with PMOS (formerly PCOS). I was fighting for answers, all the while my body was (and still is) fighting against me. I have been told that I can’t eat gluten because my body can’t process an ingredient called folic acid that America puts in a lot of wheat products and other things as well. I then cut gluten out (eventually) but it’s hard not being able to eat what other people can eat with my problem.
I have struggled with burnout from not doing enough as a teacher but doing everything I can and also running on empty. I wanted to like my job but it was hard and not something I enjoyed very often. I have quit my teaching job with no other job in sight but I held on that God would make a way for what was next. I moved to a new city – for the third time in five years – to start over at a new job with new people.
I still struggle with my health issues and sometimes they are more down than up. My new job isn’t always a walk in the park but I absolutely love what I do!
Maybe my story is special because I switched careers and decided my health needed to come first. Maybe it’s inspiring because I have pushed through grief of loosing all of my grandparents before I was 25 years old. Maybe it’s shocking to people because I pushed through symptoms for years and not feeling like myself before finally having answers and feeling like me again. Maybe… it has nothing to do with me and my circumstances, and all to do with the Amazing God who is in control of it all and the author of my story.
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This is a lot of my story. This is a lot of what has shaped me. But on the other hand, this is only scratching the surface as my story – just like yours – has so many, many different layers. Sometimes we don’t even know the layers until years later or until someone points it out to us.
God is always writing our story and we never know what the next chapter will be about. We never know what tomorrow might hold.
So on that note – be thankful for every day, take care of yourself and your health because you only get one body, have fun! say “I love you” often, and hold your loved ones close.
