Good Bones: Taking Inventory
There are some questions we only ask after life has changed us.
Not while we’re trying to survive it.
Not while we’re putting one foot in front of the other.
Those questions tend to show up later, when things finally get quiet enough for us to hear them.
The last two Good Bones episodes have been about two of those questions.
The first is simple.
What survived?
When we walk through a difficult season, it’s easy to focus on everything that didn’t. We see the relationships that ended, the dreams that changed, the years we can’t get back, or the parts of ourselves that feel unfamiliar now. Loss naturally draws our attention.
Does this still belong?
Leave what was never yours to carry…
That question can be surprisingly uncomfortable.
Sometimes the things we’ve carried for years became so familiar that we stopped noticing them. We assumed they were simply part of who we were.
Always being the strong one.
Keeping everyone else comfortable.
Feeling responsible for other people’s emotions.
Never asking for help.
Always staying busy.
Always staying prepared.
At one point, those ways of living probably made sense. They fit the circumstances we were in. They helped us navigate relationships, families, workplaces, and seasons that asked a lot from us.
The problem is that life keeps changing.
What fit one season doesn’t always fit the next.
I’ve been reminded of that while settling into my new office. Every shelf has limited space. Every drawer has limited space. Every time I chose to keep one thing, I had to decide whether there was room for something else.
Life works the same way.
We only have so much room.
As we grow, we don’t just collect new experiences. We make choices about what continues to travel with us.
Some things still fit.
Some things don’t.
Neither answer has to come with shame.
Sometimes we’re simply acknowledging that a season has ended.
Maybe that’s what rebuilding has been teaching me all along.
Before we decide where we’re going, it helps to know what we’re standing on.
Before we fill the shelves, it helps to know what deserves a place there.
Those two questions have stayed with me this week.
What survived?
Does this still belong?
I have a feeling they’re questions I’ll keep asking long after this series ends.
Stay tender. Stay True. Stay you.