Updates from Lisa Bailey

How Grief Affects the Body (and the Path to Healing) - Part 3

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:06:25 CDT

Surrender, Inflammation, and Learning to Breathe Again

Looking back, I can see what I couldn’t see then.

It wasn’t just trauma.

It wasn’t just stress.

It wasn’t just sleepless nights.

It was my grip.

I was holding everything tightly.

Holding my grief because if I fully felt it, I feared it would consume me.

Holding my schedule because busyness numbed the ache.

Holding my future because I was determined nothing like this would ever happen again.

But control is exhausting.

And my body was paying the price.

The more tightly I tried to manage my health, my children, my grief, and every possible outcome, the more my inflammation seemed to climb. It was as if my body mirrored my heart, bracing constantly.

How Grief Affects the Body (and the Path to Healing) - Part 2

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:30:11 CDT

When My Body Forced Me to Stop

Eventually, my body gave out.

My colitis flared severely. I stopped sleeping. Anxiety became a daily companion. My weight dropped because during flares my body couldn’t properly absorb nutrients, no matter how healthy I ate.

In 2012, unexplained hives appeared — head to toe. Angry. Persistent. Daily.

For three years.

At the time, I didn’t understand what was happening. In hindsight, I see it clearly: prolonged trauma, chronic stress, systemic inflammation, and postponed grief had overwhelmed my system.

My body was screaming what my heart had been suppressing.

Sleep became fractured. I would fall asleep quickly, only to wake around midnight or 1:00 a.m., wide awake. My mind would race in the dark. Fear felt louder at night.

How Grief Affects the Body (and the Path to Healing) - Part 1

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 10:48:42 CDT

When Grief Lives in the Body

Grief is not just emotional.

It is physical.

It settles into muscles, disrupts sleep, alters digestion, tightens the chest, and exhausts the mind. For many of us, it shows up in ways we don’t immediately connect to loss.

Part of my life after losing my husband was navigating a wave of health challenges that, at first, felt unrelated to grief. But looking back, I can see the connection clearly.

In May of 2008, I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, an autoimmune disease affecting the digestive tract. My doctor explained there is no known single cause for UC, but it often appears during or after prolonged stress.

Simple Rhythms: You Don't Have to Do Everything at Once

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 10:46:19 CDT

There was a season in my life when I believed I had to fix everything at once.

The grief.

The finances.

The house.

My health.

The future.

It all felt urgent — like if I didn’t hold it together immediately, everything would collapse.

After my husband died, I went into survival mode. I stayed busy. I tried to control what I could control. If I could just organize enough, plan enough, research enough, clean enough, fix enough… maybe I could outrun the ache. Maybe I could prevent the next hard thing.

But here’s what I’ve learned — slowly, and sometimes painfully:

You can’t do everything at once.

And you’re not meant to.

Simple Rhythms that Support My Health

Wed, 11 Mar 2026 12:07:00 CDT

Things that Support My Health

Healing wasn’t one dramatic moment.

It wasn’t a single breakthrough.

It wasn’t one perfect decision.

It was consistent small choices.

After walking through my husband’s illness — and later navigating my own health challenges — I used to think health required intensity. A strict plan. A complete overhaul. A level of discipline that felt exhausting before it even began.

But over time, I’ve learned that healing is usually quieter than that.

It’s built in rhythms.

Small, faithful, daily rhythms.

Simple Rhythms That Lower My Stress

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:47:00 CDT

Ways I Lower My Stress

I used to think stress was unavoidable.

Part of adulthood.

Part of motherhood.

Part of widowhood.

Part of rebuilding.

Life felt heavy, so of course I felt stressed.

But over time, God helped me see something I hadn’t noticed before.

Some stress was inevitable.

But much of it was self-imposed.

Not intentionally. Not foolishly. Just habitually.

I had been living as though everything was urgent. Everything mattered equally. Everything required my immediate attention.

And that way of living was exhausting.

Slowly, I began building simple rhythms that lowered the noise — not by controlling life, but by creating margin.

Simple Rhythms That Steady My Mornings

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:26:00 CDT

Ways I Steady My Mornings

There was a time when my mornings began in urgency.

My eyes would open and my mind would immediately start racing — responsibilities, worries, decisions, what-ifs. It felt like I was already behind before my feet even hit the floor.

But somewhere along the way, I realized I didn’t want to live like that anymore.

Now I try to begin my mornings with intention.

Not perfectly.

Not rigidly.

But gently.

I don’t rush into my day anymore. I steady myself first.

Simple Rhythms That Help Me Sleep Better

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 14:02:00 CDT

This post begins a new series I’m calling Simple Rhythms — small, sustainable habits that have helped me move from survival mode into steadier, more peaceful living. None of them are dramatic. But together, they’ve changed the way I experience my days.

Things That Help Me Sleep Better

Sleep hasn’t always come easily for me.

There were seasons after Jon passed when I would fall asleep quickly, only to wake at midnight with my mind racing. The house would be quiet, but my thoughts were loud. Fear often feels louder at night.

Over time — slowly and imperfectly — I’ve learned that good sleep doesn’t start at bedtime. It starts much earlier in the day.

Here are a few simple rhythms that have helped me sleep more deeply.

Loved Beyond Loss: Finding Hope in God’s Unfailing Love

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 10:35:00 CDT

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. And if you’re grieving, it can feel like a slap in the face. The cards. The chocolate. The flowers. Romantic movies. Couples celebrating each other. Everywhere you look, you are reminded of love, and the person you no longer have beside you. He’s not there to take you to dinner or give you flowers. She’s not handing you a card with a silly inside joke, just for you.

It’s hard to be reminded of what we’ve lost.

It’s painful to no longer receive the love that once felt so steady and secure.

You still love them deeply, but that love is no longer expressed in the same way.

This was so hard for me. I deeply loved Jon, and I missed him terribly. He was so good at telling me what he loved and valued about me on a regular basis, not just Valentine’s Day. He’d write me notes or call me from work and speak words of affirmation that strengthened my heart. Then suddenly, those words were gone.

Power In Weakness: Learning Dependence In An Unplanned Season

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:04:00 CDT

This year began very differently than I expected.

On January 1st, my daughter threw me a surprise 50th birthday party. It was so much fun, full of laughter, and such a gift. I’ve been counting down the days to turning 50, genuinely excited to celebrate this milestone.

Just two and a half weeks later, I found myself in the ER with excruciating back pain.

Let’s rewind a bit.

I’ve dealt with lower back issues on and off for years. When they flare up, I usually know what to do—ice, essential oils, a few chiropractic visits—and before long, I’m back to normal. But sometime in May, something changed.

At first, it was just an annoyance. A little discomfort that I assumed would resolve itself like it always had. I continued icing and seeing my chiropractor, but I didn’t slow down much else. Instead of improving, it steadily worsened.