It was 2011. And we had hit rock bottom. All of the plans we had in place fell through. Both of our cars had broken down and our bank account was at zero. We were to be out of our apartment at the end of the month–we’d overzealously put in our notice with the faith all our plans would work out.
We had no where to go.
We had no jobs.
We sat across from each other and laughed. “This is it,” we joked. “This is rock bottom. This is as bad as it gets.” And the thing is, I had him and he had me. And despite the fact that everything, and I mean everything was not okay, we were okay.
That was our first big low as a married couple. Since then, we’ve had a few more. Some bigger than others. I would be lying to you if I said we weren’t in the middle of one right now. Not a big one, but we’re in one. One of those moments when you just have to look at your life and think “something good will come of this.”
I’m here to tell you the same secret I told my best friend today as we stood in the same Starbucks’ parking lot we wrote in each other’s yearbooks all those years ago. Enjoy the lows. I know that sounds crazy, but the lows are those moments when you’re on the brink of something wonderful. Something is about to change.
There is always an upswing. Each time we’ve been in a low, we look at each other almost in excitement and say “are you ready for this?” Life usually takes us in some direction we never saw coming, and it’s always wonderful. It’s always better than whatever we could plan or dream up. While the lows are scary as hell–they’re meaningful. We’ve never been let down. Every low has it’s own high, and they do come. Every time. You just have to be open to whatever comes your way and have faith that it is what’s right.
Sorry you're in a low but I LOVE your attitude. This too shall pass, and like you said, you've kicked the ass of bigger problems (I'm paraphrasing here but you get it) so the upswing of this is likely pretty awesome. YOU GOT THIS.
I can't wait for your upswing 🙂
My biggest low was when I couldn't find a job 4 years ago. And then, with each moment of both deployments we've done within the last 4 years, I always thought, "See the good, something great will happen, it just has to". And many good things DID come out of it!
Ok this made me cry Joey! You definitely need to enjoy these times. These lows are the points in our lives that MAKE us. They sure do suck when we are in the middle of them, but when we look back it's awesome to see how God works everything out for us and how much better/stronger/wiser we are because of it. I know y'all will rebound just fine! And having each other is huge! That's the one big thing I miss about being in a relationship, someone to share my lows with. Because it's much easier when there are 2 of you. Love ya girl!
I'm with Kristin – looking forward to the upswing, doll. 🙂
I am so proud of you for looking at the silver lining in all of this. I hate that you guys are in a low point, but I'm definitely looking forward to the good that will come of it!
I love that you're so positive about this low time in your life. I feel like it's all too easy for people to just throw their hands up and throw the towel in these days. I have much respect for you to realize where you're at and to see it can only go up from here. Let that be the only option!
I love this, Jo. Love. Thinking of you.