Where every Tuesday: I confess.

*This is the 23rd confession sent to my email subscribers. If you’d like the most current confessions sent straight to your inbox in real time, head to my homepage, sign up, and download your free gift.*

Confession: Sometimes I don’t listen to the rules/guidelines/suggestions.

And sometimes I pay for it. And sometimes they don’t align with what I believe.

I give blood as often as I can because I am O- and they call me ALL the time. It’s also really easy for me to give blood. My numbers are always good, the needle doesn’t bother me, and the blood flows out fast.
So given these facts – I thought to myself. “I’m in shape, giving blood is easy, I can obviously go for a run tonight.”

WRONG. 

Somewhere along the run I started to feel dizzy and a little lightheaded. So I walked the rest of the way home. No big deal. If I stop running, I will feel better.

WRONG.

I tried cooking dinner and was still feeling dizzy. So I ate dinner, showered, and slept it off.

I gave blood yesterday and told the woman my story. She chuckled and said “there’s a reason we tell people not to work out or run.”  And I told her I learned my lesson and haven’t done that ever since.

In this instance the guidelines were for my safety and health.

Sometimes rules and guidelines do not sit well with your values and what you believe.

I went to a Catholic elementary school and a Lutheran church. Every Thursday at school we went to mass and had communion. I never understood why I could have communion at my Lutheran church but when I went to the Catholic mass for school I wasn’t allowed.

Even at a very young age I asked the question “But if God loves everyone, why am I not allowed to go with everyone to communion?” Being the rebel that I was when it came to believing in my values – I started going to communion anyway.

I can truly say that I didn’t do it because I wanted to fit in but I remember feeling so strongly about my belief that God loved everyone.

*Not intended to be a religious email, but rather a story from my life.*
There is value in asking yourself whether you agree, disagree, do not have an opinion or something else about rules, guidelines and regulations.

Traffic rules, roller coaster/amusement park rules, and swimming rules all pertain to your safety and need to be adhered to (and blood donor rules).

But there are many times in life that present us with the question “does this align with my values and what I believe in?”

Sometimes you might have to be a rule breaker.

lindsey