Embracing New Realities: Your Reminder To Give Yourself Grace

I haven’t talked about it much here yet, but two months ago, I was in a pretty bad car accident.

Since then, life has been a series of rapid changes:

• I broke my leg and had surgery for the first time.
• I’ve been on leave from work since the accident.
• I rely on crutches or a wheelchair to do literally anything.
• I had to unexpectedly move out of my apartment and temporarily live with a friend.

I’ll stop the list there.
All that to say — the past two months have been nothing but change after change.

When Sadness Takes Over

I had been holding up pretty well… until about a week ago.
Last week hit me hard in a way I wasn’t expecting.

For full transparency, these were the three sentences I scribbled in my journal:

“I feel like I’m stupid. I feel like my thoughts and ideas are worthless. I don’t even have thoughts or ideas.”

I know those words go against everything I believe.
But in that moment, they were my truth.

Learning to Feel What I Feel

One thing I’ve realized about myself recently is that I don’t easily sit with sad emotions.

Usually, when I notice sadness creeping in, I acknowledge it just long enough to immediately start fixing it — distracting myself, finding something positive, moving forward.

But that day was different.
I didn’t have the strength to “fix it.”
I didn’t have the mental capacity to pull myself out.

So I stayed with it.
I laid in it.
I let the lies swirl — and for a while, I believed them.

I cried for hours.
And honestly? As awful as it felt, it was human.

Finding Strength Again

A few hours later, the storm inside me started to calm.
I picked up my book and read a few pages.
Then I pulled out my prayer journal — shaky but ready to write.
Then I opened my Bible.

I was still sad, still heavy, but now I was mentally ready to let God’s strength be made whole in my weakness.

Why I Struggled With My Identity

So why did I spiral so deeply?
Why was someone who is usually so secure suddenly feeling worthless?

Through prayer, reflection, and a few honest talks with friends, I realized something important:

I was dehumanizing myself.

My life changed drastically — fast.
It makes sense that I’m not my “normal” self right now.
But being different scared me.
I started questioning if I even knew who I was anymore.

The truth is:
Nothing is wrong with me. I’m human, having a human experience.

Before the accident, most days felt like Level 3 — my highest, healthiest self.
Now, I often feel closer to Level 1 or 2.
And instead of giving myself grace for adjusting, I was punishing myself for not “bouncing back.”

But I’m not lost.
I’m not broken.
I’m learning more about myself — not less.

Giving Yourself Grace Through Hard Seasons

So consider this your reminder:

Give yourself grace.

We are humans — not robots.
We have ups, we have downs, and sometimes life flips everything upside down without warning.

In my case? I didn’t plan to run my car into a tree.
I didn’t plan for recovery to feel this hard.
But here I am — still becoming.

When life changes overnight, allow yourself to become who you need to be to survive today.
Don’t hold onto yesterday’s version of yourself if she’s not who will carry you forward.

You’re still you — you’re just growing.
You’re becoming even more of who God created you to be.

And that’s okay.
That’s grace. 🧡