Pick your Battles God's Way!!!

Today's Journey: How to reserve our energy, not every battle needs a reaction….

For years, I lived in one of two extremes. I was either a people pleaser who let everyone walk all over her, or I was a stubborn, outspoken woman who didn't give anyone a fair chance to say their say.

Two crazy extremes to live in. And if I'm honest, the truth is as single moms, most of us have lived in one of these two places at some point.

When God started working on me about reserving my energy, I had no idea how much of it stemmed from a lack of boundaries. What shocked me even more was that I didn't even fully understand what a boundary was. All I knew was this: someone would do something, I wouldn't like it, and I would react. That was it. That was the whole cycle.

And that cycle was exhausting.

I don't even want to get into the guilt and shame that would follow every single time.

You Are Not Alone

If this is you, hear me you are not alone, and no, it does not always have to be this way.

The first step in this challenge is learning to identify the emotion behind your reaction. Every emotion you feel is carrying a hidden story. For years, we were told we were "too emotional," "too dramatic," or that we "overreact" to everything.

Here's the hard truth: most of the time, they were right.

But not for the reason we were made to believe. We overreact because for years we were taught to avoid our negative emotions instead of understanding them. And when you don't know what to do with an emotion, you only have two options left, you react impulsively, or you numb it. With busyness. With distractions. With substances.

Your Emotions Are a Map, Not a Malfunction

Here's what changed everything for me: our negative emotions aren't proof that something is wrong with us. They're maps. They guide us and teach us exactly where our needs aren't being met, and exactly where our boundaries have been crossed.

This exercise of learning to sit with your emotions instead of reacting to them might be painful at first. But it will set you free.

It will teach you how to let go of toxic relationships. How to build healthier ones. And most importantly, how to know when it's time to simply walk away.

Let's keep rebuilding.