For a long time, I thought I just needed to stay motivated.If I could stay excited, stay inspired, stay in the right mood, I believed I could stay consistent in the things that mattered most.
But life has a way of showing us the truth.
Especially after loss.
Especially after loss.
Some days, the emotions just aren’t there.
Some days, grief is heavy, the future feels overwhelming, and even small tasks feel like mountains.
Some days, grief is heavy, the future feels overwhelming, and even small tasks feel like mountains.
On those days, motivation is nowhere to be found.
That’s when I learned something important: discipline steps in when feelings fall short.Discipline isn’t about being perfect. It’s not about stuffing your emotions down or pretending everything is okay.
It’s about choosing what matters even when it’s hard.
As a widow raising young children, there were certain disciplines I had to choose again and again — not because I always felt like it, but because I knew it was who I wanted to become and who I wanted my children to see me becoming.
Here are some of the disciplines that mattered most in that season:
- Time in the Word. Even when I felt numb or tired, I needed truth more than ever. I needed to remind my heart of what’s unchanging when so much around me felt like shifting sand.
- Exercise. Moving my body helped not just physically, but mentally. Some days it was a short walk. Some days it was stretching in the living room. But choosing to move helped me push back against discouragement.
- Nutrition. It was easy to reach for what was quick and comforting. But choosing food that fueled my body gave me more strength and stability — something my kids and I both needed.
- Teaching my children. Homeschooling while grieving wasn’t easy. But the discipline of showing up — even with simple lessons or creative adjustments — built connection, stability, and growth, for them and for me.
Now that my kids are grown, I still choose these disciplines.They keep me grounded.
They remind me that even when life changes, even when the season shifts, staying anchored to what truly matters makes all the difference.
They remind me that even when life changes, even when the season shifts, staying anchored to what truly matters makes all the difference.
I’m learning that discipline isn’t about being rigid.It’s about being faithful.Faithful to what God has called me to.
Faithful to the story He is still writing in my life.
If you’re feeling stuck or exhausted today, you’re not failing.
You’re human.
And it’s in the small, unseen choices — not the bursts of motivation — where true growth is happening.
You’re human.
And it’s in the small, unseen choices — not the bursts of motivation — where true growth is happening.
Stay steady, my friend.
The fruit will come.
The fruit will come.
Quote from Felicia Johnson. You can find her on instagram @faith.grace.truth
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