It was a weekend of life's brilliant dichotomy for me; the complicated grey.
THE BAD WITH THE GOOD.
THE DARK WITH THE LIGHT.
THE THORN WITH THE BEAUTY.
I'm not sure sure any woman enjoys their yearly exam at the OB/GYN but Friday was my day.
The Bad, The Dark, The Thorn
I spent an hour waiting in the waiting room with only parenting and pregnancy magazines to read with no cell service. And, a few uncomfortable pregnant women as my company (who I feel empathy for in their discomfort, jealousy toward their blessing in becoming a mother, all combined with a tiny piece of pissed offness).
The Good, The Light, The Beauty
Once back in the exam room I can't help but laugh as I try to fit my ass in the paper drape left on the exam table for me (which I have never quite figured out how to use). And, despite being the healthiest I've ever been my curves still rip it almost completely in half.
Then the actual exam, no explanation needed, it is just the bad, the dark and the thorn.
Then the good, the light, the beauty as my doctor actually spends time with me. She truly believes in my story and is excited about the book and the blog, Ever Upward. I feel like an actual person with her and not just the woman who can't have kids.
The Balance of Dichotomy
The dichotomy continued with my kid-filled weekend.
The bad, the dark, the thorn is having to be around a child that is very difficult for me. All wrapped up with the good, the light, the beauty in people who believe in my story, my progress and my message. All to come home to three of my chosen children spending the night with us for the first time for what is sure to be the first of many fun slumber parties; they are the good, the light, the beauty. Quickly followed last night by a pregnancy announcement that feels unfair; the bad, the dark, the thorn.
What I am figuring out is that this ever upward recovery I fight to live every day will always be filled with the dichotomy of life.
The good comes with the bad. The light comes through the dark. And many times, beauty comes with a thorn.
We don't get one without the other.
And thank God, because it provides us with immense perspective, gratitude and our truth.
There will be days where shaking off the bad, the dark, the thorn just really isn't that easy. I will admit I worked hard to shake it off all weekend. But, what I really needed was to allow myself to move through it all.
Because, sometimes, we just have to sit with it, moving through it and allow it to pass. Trusting that if we do this work the good, the light, the beauty will quickly follow.
After all, this is exactly the truth and the light of ever upward.
Sometimes I need the reminder too, to which life and God will always provide.
The moments of the bad, the dark and the thorn make the moments of the good, the light and the beauty even more amazing.
And so, I will breathe it all in, embracing and trusting it because I know it is my authentic truth and because it is the only way through to my ever upward.