It’s time for the true story

I haven’t completely settled in to my new office yet.  It’s been sort of a work in progress since we moved in because I waited a long time to buy bookshelves.  We lived in our old house for 14 years and most of that time, I didn’t even own a bookshelf.  A few years ago, when the books were piling up in my closet, I finally bought a little red bookshelf at Ikea, filled it with my favorites, and left the rest in the pile in the closet.  When we moved in to this house and I realized that I had four huge boxes of books, I decided to honor my new-found love for reading by buying a set of bookshelves that I love.  I finally found them, and purchased them on a giant sale over the holidays.

They arrive today! (I can’t wait!)

I’ve shared before that my love for reading (& learning in general) is a relatively new thing.  When I was a kid, all I wanted was to get through school.  I wanted to skim by with the least amount of effort.  As a result, I had an inner belief that it was because I was sneaky or even lazy, I’d never named it, or even acknowledged it.  But it was part of my inner dialogue until the day we got the test results back for my son who has dyslexia and dysgraphia.  In what seemed like an instant, a million little dots all connected in my mind.  The reason I strongly disliked the library, reading and schoolwork wasn’t because I didn’t like to learn.

It was because I wasn’t good at learning the way I was being taught. 

I loved listening to my Dad’s motivational tapes by Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar.  But give me a book, and I’d rather just go to sleep.  When my mom took us to the library to pick up books for summer reading, I would begrudgingly look for the books with the most pictures.  Meanwhile my sister Kim, excitedly scoured all the titles, discovering books she couldn’t wait to bury her nose in all summer long.

Suddenly, it all made sense. 

Who knows if I actually have dyslexia (although I’m pretty sure I do).  All that matters is, that year I decided it was time to rewrite the story that had been playing on repeat in my mind.  I bought a subscription to Audible and it was life-changing.  Since then, I’ve fallen in LOVE with books.  I still love audio, but I’ve also discovered that I love to read physical books, with a highlighter in my hand.

Making that connection in my mind has given me so much empathy for my boys. 

I’d walk through fire to help them see their brilliance, uniqueness, and creativity as the strength that it is, not some sort of character flaw.  It’s no coincidence that testing was the same year I started HeartStories. (Also around the same time we took this little family pic)  The personal growth and development that has resulted from my new-found love of books and learning is the one of the main things I can point to that has kept me going in the face of challenges and adversity.

It has taught me that the things that make me different are my biggest contribution to the world.  

I don’t know what old negative stories you still play on repeat in your mind, but today, challenge them.

What’s an old story you believed that held you back?

How has life changed since you replaced it with truth?

What’s an area of your life you once believed was a flaw, but have now discovered is part of your brilliance? 

What’s a story you’re still telling yourself about your differences being your flaws?

It’s time you listen to the true story.

The things that make you different, make you exactly who we need.

to more love,

Crystal

photo cred: Melanie Johnson Photography