You know when something should “break you” by all accounts, but doesn’t?
When you wonder how you made it through?
And then you realise the experience forever changed you, but not for the worse?
That was my hysterectomy.
This weekend marked two years since my surgery.
What carried me through was community: my doctors, therapist, home nurses, loved ones, friends, and former colleagues from various workplaces.
They were my version of Noah’s Ark.
When the waters rose, they lifted me higher, kept me steady, and made sure the floods didn’t take me under.
I said a prayer of thanks to God for carrying me through, and I prayed that my community would be blessed a thousandfold for the kindness they showed and continue to show me.
The surgery saved my body and gave me back peace in so many ways.
The stubborn “doughnut” I couldn’t lose, no matter how carefully I ate, turned out to be fibroids pressing against everything they could.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
- Healing has its own timeline.
- You can lose things back-to-back and still rise.
Today, I am at peace.
Is my life perfect…far from it!
Has life thrown me curveballs since? You bet!
But you know what hasn’t changed?
My belief in community, in surrounding yourself with good and kind people, and in choosing to be yourself.
The challenges that shape us also sharpen us as leaders, as colleagues, and most importantly, as humans.
So, as you step into this week, factor in your well-being.
Because peace is not a luxury, it is part of the plan.
