Setbacks

Two Cups of Tea at Hope’s Cafe

While visiting our grandchildren in Maryland, just at the 6 month post-surgery milestone and was doing very well, our 6 y.o., in a burst of exuberance, ran towards me to hug me just as I came inside after a walk.  I wasn’t expecting it, wasn’t prepared, wasn’t “planted.”  Down I went!  I expect it will be at least a month to recover lost ground.

How have I responded?  I have grieved.  I was so happy with my improvement.  I have struggled with acceptance that I don’t bounce back as quickly as I did when I was younger.  I honor my grief and my struggle.  Yet setbacks come in many ways in the course of a lifetime.  We give ourselves a great gift when we are able to move on from the grief and struggle to a path forward, to the actions and attitudes that support recovery.

In setbacks we have a clear choice: to despair or to accept the challenge to overcome the setback.  I think of all the things I have survived, from my earliest recovery from rheumatic fever to the experience Terry and I had when we were defrauded by our longtime business manager.  I won’t be defeated by this setback!  Consider this:

“Giving up on a goal is like slashing your other three tires because you got a flat.” — Setback Quotes.QuotesGram

The invitation is open to share two cups of tea anytime at Hope’s Café or anywhere you share companionship and conversation.

May we bearers of hope, the “wait staff” at Hope’s Café, for each other and all those we encounter.  Shalom, Kate