When it’s tempting to give into the hard stuff.
July started off with a bang. I’d like to say it was because we had an awesome fireworks display in our cul de sac or because we went to an awesome super duper fireworks show.
Nope.
We were in a car accident. My first ever. And it was my fault.
Damages were significant (so that we’ll have been without our van for over three weeks while it’s repaired, by the time we get it back) but all of us are fine. No injuries to the humans.
It would be easy to get discouraged this month after a car accident, over 25 days straight of rain this summer (it isn’t quite feeling like summer when we aren’t doing outdoor activities), my main camera broke and was sent in for repairs, and this week our second car broke down and sustained major engine damage. This means we are down to a rental car (from our insurance after our accident) that hauls only 5 of the 6 of us around.
With that final piece of broken-ness we realized that the trip we had scheduled to a beach house at the end of the month had just been swallowed up and disappeared into that engine repair expense.
Each activity and hope for the summer that we were all super excited about and looking forward to, as a family, seemed to sail out to sea, farther and farther, becoming only a speck on the horizon.
And now, it’s disappeared.
We’ve each taken our turn being disappoint and discouraged. Surprising though, we are all still feeling hopeful, and I believe it’s because of a few things.
One of them is writing abundance prayers. I know it sounds a little crazy! They make a huge difference, though, in how you see your world and the things happening in it.
I write from the future, as though everything has already worked out. I write seeing all of the good and awesome things that have happened because of what we’ve been through.
This is a glimpse into an abundance prayer I wrote recently:
Thank you for allowing us as a family to become what we really want to be. What we’ve been through in the last few weeks has brought us closer to each other and taught us so much about how to be resilient.
We were in a car accident and I’m so grateful none of us were hurt. We have been blessed to pay for all of the unexpected expenses. We had money arrive in our mailbox from completely unexpected sources and have had channels open for income that we had never seen before. It’s been amazing to see that kind of mercy rush to our aid.
Both of our cars have returned to us and they are running even more smoothly and wonderfully than before the accident and break down! It feels like we are driving brand new cars. And that is awesome! We have never owned a brand new car so that feeling is so exciting and fun! The kids love it and we all have a new love and appreciation for our van that gets all of us around in one car and in one trip.
I am grateful for the courage I was given to call off our beach house instead of give into the temptation to overextend ourselves. There’s been a freedom in that and a reduction of stress that I’m so grateful for. It was a scary thing to do but I’m so grateful that the owner was extremely understanding and kind about the whole situation.
I was so worried about breaking the news to the kids that we would not be going to the beach house but when I did they were so willing to go with something else that we could do. They were even excited about planning a stay at home vacation!
Thank you for helping me to see that my life is amazing as it is. I love seeing that it doesn’t need to measure up to a fantasy expectation that I had in my head or the instagram road trips that I saw so many families taking this summer.
I’m so grateful for the flood of new ideas that I’m getting so that I can spread the news of the power of The Familyness Photo Workshop. I know that it changes lives and families and it’s so exciting to see more families and photographers discovering it!
Thank you for letting me see that my family life is unique and wonderful. Our lives have changed in ways this summer that we needed to be changed to become the family we ultimately want to be.
I’m so grateful that I was happy, right in the middle of all of these messes. I am even more grateful that my family and kids were grateful and had happy hearts in the middle of what could have been really depressing and discouraging circumstances. It has been such a blessing to get to see all of our abundance and not drown in lack. We have been so blessed, in infinite ways, this past summer!
This gratitude prayer above was written three days ago. None of this had happened when it was written and some of it still has not happened.
But putting this prayer on paper changes me! It takes me from disappointment, discouragement, thoughts of lack and woe is me, to hope and faith that everything is going to work out. It reminds me that our life is good.
Right now, it’s good.
Writing like this also brings back to me all of the times that things have worked out, miracles have happened. This process puts into my mind all of the awesome stories from our life that have already transpired.
It gives me hope.
I know I can trust. I know I can be happy now.
I know I don’t have to wait until everything has worked out to stop worrying and being stressed.
Emma left her summer reading book for school in the van, that has been in the repair shop for weeks now. Our accident happened almost 4 hours away from our home so we can’t just drive to the shop and ask to get her book out of the van. She’s been worried about having enough time to read it and do the work before school starts. She came to me the other day and said, “I wrote an abundance prayer, mom. I’m going to get my book back, the van is going to be done in time.”
I’ve written a lot of abundance prayers (thanks to the inspiration from Brooke Snow and Carol Tuttle).
I write abundantly any time I start to feel the weight of a circumstance or responsibility. Everything I write isn’t necessarily how everything plays out. But a surprising amount of it does happen the way I say write it happening.
For example:
I did call the beach house guy, he was disappointed. I do feel better not having overextended ourselves by trying to pay for thousands of dollars of car repairs and a beach house week.
We did get a completely unexpected check in the mail yesterday.
Our cars haven’t been returned to us yet. But we did find out that something that was previously broken before the accident was repaired as a by product.
We did break the news to the kids about the beach house being a no-go. They were very understanding and knew before we even said anything.
Previous to writing this I was feeling super stuck in my business and frustrated about how to share with more people about the message of The Familyness Photo Workshop. Within a day, I had lots of ideas about how to reach people. It’s been so exciting and I’ve been so blessed to hear more and more stories about the impact that The Familyness Photo Workshop is making!
I am seeing that our life is awesome. Our family is good at rallying and making the best of things. That’s pretty cool to see.
We just found out that another unexpected check is on it’s way (none of these checks cover all of our unexpected expenses this month but they are an awesome reminder that we are known, that kind of mercy is such a gift).
Our life is changing in some super positive ways. (I can’t wait to share more over the next couple of weeks)
The biggest thing that writing abundance prayers (and you can all them anything you want) is that it gives me peace in this moment and gratitude for my family as it is right now.
They keep me from wishing for tomorrow or two weeks from now or how life will be in a year.
How can you get started with your own Abundance/Gratitude Writing:
*Put yourself in a future place where everything that’s been going wrong and all of the things you’re worried about have all worked out.
*Imagine how everything could work out for the best, the way you would feel, why you are so grateful, who came to your aid.
*Now write all of those scenarios played out.
*As you write notice how much better you’re feeling.
*Make sure to check back into your writing in a couple of months! It’s fun to see.
Have you written gratitude prayers from the future before? What did you write about? What kinds of things do you do to help your family stay hopeful in the present when things seem difficult?
It keeps me…it keeps us as a family…happy today.
Make sure to sign up for all of the super fun stuff I send from the Familyness Fort!
Davina Fear recently discovered the joy of a red and white polka dot tablecloth and the way it can brighten up the dining room table and a conversation. She believes that Nacho Libre quotes help almost any situation.
She blogs at davinafear.com and teaches The Familyness Photo Workshop.
4 Comments
Nacho Libre quotes certainly do improve most any situation. 🙂 So sorry to hear about the cars!! Wish we lived closer so we could lend you our second one!
You are awesome, Amy! Thank you! We wish we lived closer to your cute family for so many reasons!!
It is always such an inspiration to hear people share the tools they are using to overcome difficult moments!
Davina, I have to say, I get inspired everytime I read your blog! Thank you for sharing your experiences with everyone and continuously motivating people and families to be happy and the best they/we can be. What a special gift you have! From the bottom of mine and my family’s hearts, thank you for being you!