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Can we pause for a moment to give thanks for absolutely everything?!

This little piece of joy arrived in the mail yesterday. It’s an article I wrote for the American Holistic Nurses Association’s Beginnings magazine.

It’s exciting to see your work in print, online, or quite frankly, anywhere. And I wanted to take a moment to say thank God for the strength to write it.

I also want to encourage someone who is struggling to accomplish their goals or wondering if their work matters or afraid of what it will take to go after their dreams.

I think I average about 102 new ideas per minute. This used to deeply frustrate me because it’s practically impossible to work on each of them. What makes this even a bit more interesting is that my writing and nursing practice come in second to my family and our children.

As the deadline for this article approached, I desperately tried to find a moment to put my ideas on paper. My usual stacks of books, notebooks and notes were everywhere. My husband, who’s in grad school, was studying late every day as his full immersion weekend of classes approached. And our babies just refused to take one nap to let mama get this article finished.

I was a bit tired, a bit frustrated but as determined as ever not to let anything stop me.

So, here comes the Friday at 6pm deadline. Hubby’s in school. Children are home from school. And all I want to do is write. 2 o’clock comes and goes. 3 o’clock quickly approaches and flees again. 4 o’clock is here and oh Lord! Please let my children take just a short nap!

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So I make the house completely dark and quiet. I read. I sing. I pray. They fall asleep. Woohoo!!!!

5 o’clock! Are you kidding me?! I have one hour to write a meaningful article to share with my colleagues in the organization that I love so dearly.

Well, let’s work with what we’ve got.

I sat on the floor of my living room afraid to wake even one of our children and wrote this article by the light of my iPhone. And guess what, I got it done.

So why am I sharing this story?
Because someone is giving their situation everything they’ve got and they still feel defeated. You are doing everything “right,” taking care of your work and/or your family. You are frustrated, tired, but determined. And I want you to know that it is possible. That what you have to share and what you want to do matters.

And I also want you to know that no one is coming to rescue you. You are going to have to plant your feet and push forward on your goals to see them come to life. You can get help, you can go slowly, but it’s possible and its up to you.

Believe that your dreams matter. Believe that you have what it takes to accomplish them. Believe that your life and purpose are designed to make a difference in this world. And do the real work it takes to achieve your goals.

You can do it. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. I’m saying it’ll be worth it.

Tweet: I’m not saying it’ll be easy. I’m saying it’ll be worth it.

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P.S. Thank God for awesome editors like AHNA’s Becky. She told me I wrote a great article, which further confirms to me that miracles happen everyday. 😉 I appreciate you!

Do you have a goal that’s waiting for you to make the decision to accomplish it? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.