Humbly Human: Recent Episodes
Rhonda Hedges
A place to pause in the storms of life to find a safe place to laugh even when the winds are raging. Walk with me through some of these moments and learn how to face adversity and still keep smiling.
Why is it we can be planted in the most dangerous situation but if we feel like we have the littlest piece of control we stay calm, but when we feel we have less control we panic showing our true self. Does this sound like you? It sure is how I react to life even when I know that if I will just pause and lean into the one that controls all the storms of life I will have peace. This episode will help you find laughter in my crazy life to realize things are not that deep.
Do you every look back at a season and see the wasted time and head space? Well this episode I will tell you how a moment of lightheartedness on vacation taught me that its okay to be me. I have finally realized, after all the wasted time, that people are just human. Listen as I tell you about another moment of my humanity.
As I face the end of another school year and see the transitions of young people into a new phase of life. I think we are reminded in this reflection that we all transition through various periods of our life and we can do this with grace. I hope that this allows you to reflect on how you might move through these seasons.
No matter the title one can give the nurturing love of a mother. I have had the pleasure of watching and knowing so many people that loved so deeply speaking into the lives of others. No matter you title this episode captures the love of a mother and how the storms can be a preparation for tomorrow. Happy mothers day to all that take the time to speak love into others,
Recently someone said to me, "not everything in life a competition". I laughed to myself that if this person only knew the only competition I have is with myself. If you can relate this episode will take you through one of my crazy adventures of accepting my race and how God has designed me.
Are you walking through a dark season and find yourself saying, "if people only knew what I am facing in my life". We are equipped to face these moments with these moments. So the next time you look into the eyes of a friend you realize they may be facing a battle that they cannot talk about. Just know the person that show the most joy might be fighting a war we never see. Laughter can often hide the pain of rejection, grief, or a broken heart. Walk with me through my darkness and know there is always light even when we do not feel it.
I hope that you can boldly accept the creation God has made in you, with all of your scars on your heart. God has made you for just a time as this and when change comes and new doors open you accept that God has you right where you are for a reason. I hope this episode helps you see that God makes no mistakes and that he formed you perfectly for his plan.
Often as Educators we face parents that are upset or angry with the school. Often these moments come after a behavior displayed by a student or our the reaction of others to that behavior. In these difficult conversations we must remember the grace we that is given to us in our own mistakes. In this episode I will share one of my not so great mama moments and how it caused me to be grateful for the grace I was extended. I hope this episode helps you give grace and love to those in your life this week.
Staying true to ourselves in times of darkness is much harder than we give it credit. So often it is easier to fix the problem quickly through a compromise of our ethics. This slow fade can begin the process of giving our hearts away to the world. Listen as this episode encourages you, like Job, to stay the course and know that God is in ultimate control even in the darkest of seasons.
Are you looking for the Big Miracles in life? I share how I have spent my life looking for the big miracles when God says I have given you blessings that you daily overlook. Often God is remodeling our life to prepare us for a future blessing. In the crazy of life go on a remodeling journey that has allowed me to see that God is working to rebuild the subfloors of our life.
Do you every feel like you are unintelligent or feel less than someone else? This happens to me when things come so easily for others. What I did not know as a child struggling to read that later this would be a testimony when working with young people who also struggle. No experience or struggle is lost in life it is truly part of our path, our experiences in life.
Do you feel like you have slayed Goliath's in you life? Well I sure have the problem is with being a person that has overcome great obstacles we often allow these hurdles to get in our way of the great opportunities of tomorrow. I learned a great lesson from some courageous young men many years ago that I need to carry with me forward in my journey of life.
You know those moments in your life where you relive every conversation or thing you might say to others. This can be exhausting, leaving you left with an emotionally drained life that needs others to come alongside us and hold us up. If you find yourself in these moments I pray you have an Aaron in your life that helps you navigate these seasons like I have been so blessed to have with me throughout many difficult times.
Well each of you most likely have a nativity in your home among your Christmas Decorations and we are no different. I remember as a child laying on the carpet imagining the trip that Mary and Joseph took to give birth in a stable to our Savior Jesus. Now in my home there is another story that goes with the nativity that truly causes my mother and I to laugh each year. I hope you find the visit to our nativity a fun filled tale of how an affair changed what we see in our nativity each year. Hope this brings you some joy.
Do you really see who your are to others? I do not let the world see who I really am and I think that it would scare most people. Today I will share a funny story that I judged someone by their outer appearance when they were truly there to help me. Boy was I wrong and the blessing they were in my life. I really try to do the right thing when no one else is looking calling on the one person that loves me like no other, Jesus.
Do you find the comfort in the familiar of the past or do you struggle against change because you don't want to experience uncomfortable moments. Take a funny look at a childhood memory of my father not wanting to let go of the past even if it means wearing something that could get him arrested. Enjoy this laugh and remember to keep looking forward.
Colors and smells can bring us back to a moment in life triggering a memory of happiness or great sadness. This episode will take a look at the deep hues of purple and what they historically mean and how they connect to my life. Ultimately understanding that we cannot focus on the negativity of our perspective allowing the popular view of the world to determine our happiness. Being the purple in life is understanding the ultimate royalty of Christ and that we are where we are in life because it is his divine plan for us to be in this place for this time.
Do you try to hide how your are truly feeling from the world? Grief can cause you to attempt to hide your feelings but the reality is they come out in very hard often embarrassing ways. In my true candid way I will allow you to see how a funny experience is connected to how we often think we are hiding our emotions. The reality is we just need to throw back the covers and let the world see our pain understanding that often hiding it does nothing but make matters worse.
Grief can cause you to feel alone in a crowded room lost in your thoughts. If grief has robbed you of being present by creeping into your thoughts when you least expect it then this session is for you.
Do you grieve a loss so great that it has changed the topography of your life? Things are not the same and you struggle to have words to pray? Friends I am going to attack grief over the next few weeks and how it can come with the loss of a loved one or the loss of a relationship. We will discover how it is okay when we can't find words because God knows our hearts. I hope that as you don't have words in your prayers you learn to lean into God and know that praying for the acceptance of this loss in life demonstrates your true reliance on the will of God in your life.
If you allow things in your life to keep you up at night and control your thoughts this is the episode for you. Listen as I tell you about how I despise the slithering serpents of life and they are metaphorical of the work I try to do to control things in my life. Like a snake, that I cannot stand, I go after issue in my life to not just complete them but become consumed with them. If you find yourself trying to control life around you then I hope this wild story helps you connect to the snakes of your life knowing that God has already written our story. This should free us from the bondage of control.
We control absolutely nothing in our lives. I have spent years pushing through pain, anger, and various circumstances to gain this metaphorically idea of control. The reality is we control nothing in our life. The prayer we need to pray is to help us accept God's will in our life. This episode looks at how I have conditioned myself to work hard and stay busy to keep from focusing on my own health or problems. This has created this false sense of control until my body show me otherwise.
Do you live under of the false assumption you have some control or power in this life? It is our human desire to control our outcomes, the reality it is only with the will of God that we are able to navigate the seasons of life. I hope this episode allows you the insightful look into my lack of control in my life is the same for everyone. When we are in these seasons of change we realize that we should not be self absorbed but thankful for the memories they provide. Reframing the loses in our life will help you understand how you have arrived in a waiting season on God's goodness.
Discerning the good from the bad in this world can be hard and honestly a daily training of the mind. I have found that I am a walking contradiction that falls short daily even in the daily activities of life. I am working to cultivate the good things in life without creating idols to what the world says should be important. Accepting the person God has made me to be to the world.
If you are an over-thinker that reflects on every word spoken to you or you over analyze everything you speak to others then you can relate to this story. We often forget that these traits can be a blessing allowing us to better reflect on our witness to the world. This episode will share my experience with Charlie and how it taught me to focus on what is important in life - our witness to the world.
Finding ways to redirect your negative energy will allow you to face the dark times in life and know that it is all apart of the larger journey of life. This episode you will see that doing what is needed right in front of you can take the focus off of your dark moment.
If you have ever had to relive a traumatic event in your life not by choice you know that it can be breathtaking. It can cause you to feel lost or even unable to move forward. If you couple this with any other area of concern you may feel like you are facing a mountain you could never climb. This episode will share this new found season in my life that I am charged to gather weary travelers like myself in this season giving them a soft place to land.
There are times in life that your ethical core will be called into question. When it will be easier for you to follow the popular opinion to keep from causing yourself any inconvenience. Staying true is a decision that people pleasers like myself will struggle with daily, as we long for others to like and approve of our decisions. However, unfortunately when you stay true this will not be possible, because you will be different than the world.
Have you been victim to the negative voices in your head? Well if not then save this episode for when you are as I have allowed the negative waves to overtake me lately and I must remember I am only one person.
Have you ever faced an angry upset person or situation that caused you great concern? If we met these situations with the same negative energy it most likely got worse. Today's episode challenges us to go low when others go high, I like to call it the forced calm. It does not always feel natural but it does change the circumstances. You will see this works for people or creatures. Enjoy this laugh and lesson for life in our angry world.
Do you have those moments where you feel like you are being hit repeatedly by one thing after another that cause you to audibly say, "are you kidding me?" I hope that today's funny story will help you to face these moments by fighting like a warrior and then helping someone else. Remember we are all falling down on the shore of life trying to catch our breathe.
This episode recalls a true why in my life over twenty five years ago. An event that comes to my mind occasionally that really has no answer to why it happened. As the school year starts and many people attend trainings remember how one training saved my life. I hope this helps you understand that not all why's of life are answered but are merely part of our journey.
Join me in candid interview with my dear friend that has walked though life's storms with faith and grace. I know her life will bless you as it does me, giving you strength to face your daily challenges.
Today I ask you to take the time to change the mental imagery that others may have around you as you give them a servants heart. This may mean some temporary pain but it is all worth it when you help others see the world differently.
When storms happen in life we often take on a role to combat the storm. Some people are fixers, some people are nurturers, and some people are quiet meditators. This episode looks at my role as a fixer, and how even as a fixer we cannot control the ending of so many of our storms because they are already written.
Living with an autoimmune disease that focuses on your bodies internal plumbing can cause you to have real moments of humility in your life. I hope this story of my time in a local craft story allows you to see that kindness can be everywhere if we just look for it.
This episode introduces you to one of the lighthearted moments in life that have allowed me to laugh when I should have panicked. Like many of you, sometimes you find the best solution to get the job done. Hope you enjoy this short story to lighten your day.