The stories we tell ourselves, may not be true...
For years, I believed I had a sensitive digestive system.
It wasn't always that way. But somewhere along the journey through menopause, my digestion seemed to change. I dealt with bloating, indigestion, and a growing list of foods that required caution. Over time, I adjusted. I learned about Ayurveda, changed the way I ate, experimented with supplements, took probiotics, drank kombucha, ate fermented foods, and faithfully made a batch of bone broth almost every week.
Things improved, but never completely.
I eventually accepted that this might simply be my new normal.
Then a couple months ago, I developed a severe throat infection. It became so serious that I ended up in the emergency room over the weekend. My jaw had tightened so much that I could barely open my mouth.
The treatment required a strong antibiotic for longer than the usual course.
I was worried.
After years of carefully nurturing my gut health, I feared the antibiotics would undo all the progress I had made.
But something unexpected happened.
As I recovered from the infection, I began noticing little changes. Meals that would normally leave me uncomfortable no longer bothered me. The large salads I had avoided suddenly seemed fine. The bloating and gas that had become familiar companions quietly disappeared.
The change wasn't gradual. It felt almost overnight.
To this day, I don't know exactly why. Perhaps the antibiotics eliminated something that had been disrupting my digestion for years. Perhaps the probiotics and kefir I took during and after treatment helped create a healthier balance. Perhaps it was some combination of factors no one could fully explain.
What I do know is this:
I was convinced I knew how the story ended.
I thought I had tried everything.
I thought I understood the limits of what was possible.
I thought this was simply part of getting older.
I was wrong.
Our bodies are remarkably complex. Sometimes even the experts struggle to understand exactly what's happening beneath the surface. Healing doesn't always arrive in the package we expect. Occasionally the thing we fear most turns out to contain an unexpected gift.
How often do we do this in other areas of life?
We decide a relationship will never improve.
We assume a dream has passed us by.
We accept a limitation because it has existed for so long.
We confuse "it's been this way for years" with "it will always be this way."
Yet life has a way of surprising us.
Not every story ends with a dramatic turnaround. Not every challenge resolves itself neatly. But my experience reminded me of something important:
As long as we're alive, there is room for possibility.
There is room for healing.
There is room for change.
There is room for hope.
Sometimes what appears to be a setback is simply a chapter whose purpose we don't yet understand.
And sometimes the very thing we wish hadn't happened becomes the thing that opens a door we never saw coming.
❤️ Julie
I remain open to life's unexpected gifts.
Healing, growth, and possibility can arrive in ways I never imagined.
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