Caroline TeSelle

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Restlessness Uncovered

August 15, 2016 By Caroline TeSelle

Restlessness uncovered

In spite of all our sense of uncleanness, in spite of all our rush and interest in the work of the world, and in spite of all our logic, the implicit sense of God will come and disturb our peace. ~ Oswald Chambers

Peace has always been attached to a place for me. The ocean. The cottage. And now La Foce.

Just get me there and I’ll experience peace.

But after 72 hours into our trip to Italy, I realized that my idea of true peace has been misplaced.

It’s not about a place.

Peace is not geographical.

Peace is not easily achieved by driving or flying to a beautiful location.

Peace is not about comfort.

There are certain places that can make you “feel” peaceful while you’re there. But that feeling does not last. As soon as you return to “normal” life, the peaceful feeling fades.

hydrangeas

My “peace” was ripped apart in Tuscany, sitting among the path of hydrangeas, on a Sunday morning.

I mean, the setting was peace inducing.

But my heart was ripped open there.

Surrounded by beauty, Jesus touched my heart and revealed the ugliness inside.

There was an abuse of my soul that morning.

It took a trip across an ocean, on a different continent, to expose some restlessness that had settled in my heart.

Restlessness uncovered

The distractions that had settled inside my heart became invitations to prayer.

Restlessness was uncovered. Peace was disturbed.

Burdens were lifted.

Restlessness uncovered

Is true peace achievable?

The answer is yes.

But it’s not achieved in a place.

True peace is found in a Person.

True peace is being shaken to your core by your Father, uncovering those comforts to reveal a heart of misplaced peace.

True peace is a journey that will be disturbed time and again.

The path of peace for us is to hand ourselves over to God and ask Him to search us, not what we think we are, or what other people think we are, or what we persuade ourselves we are or would like to be, but, ‘Search me out, O God, explore me as I really am in Thy sight.’ ~ Oswald Chambers

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Filed Under: Tuscany

Comments

  1. emily p freeman says

    August 15, 2016 at 11:22 am

    What an honor to bear witness to your peace and your Peace, Caroline. You are a gift and I’m so grateful for you.

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      August 15, 2016 at 5:36 pm

      Love you friend.

  2. Libbie Lowe says

    August 15, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    Again, beautifully written.
    Only God brings us that inner peace and it doesn’t happen instantly when we pray but, it surely is awesome when it does, isn’t it?

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      August 15, 2016 at 5:37 pm

      Yes it is! Love you.

  3. Lauren says

    August 20, 2016 at 6:42 am

    This is beautiful, Caroline. “True peace is a journey that will be disturbed time and time again.” Another paradox in the life of a follower of Christ. Joy in suffering. Life in death. Peace through disturbance. I love that.

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      August 20, 2016 at 8:45 am

      Thank you Lauren. It’s a hard truth to learn, isn’t it? But beautiful.

  4. Maureen Benke says

    August 20, 2016 at 11:41 am

    I found myself in my own little kitchen with the rain showering down outside reading your article on PEACE. It is TRUE that PEACE comes from God. If only we would just get out of the way and let him dwell. In Ephesians 1 we are told that we have been given EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…..WOW! Think on that a minute…EVERY….EVERY…spiritual blessing in the heavenly places….now, wouldn’t that include PEACE? We just have to constantly remember that we are NOT home yet; but, home in the form of PEACE can be with us now because we have been given the Holy Spirit and are NOT left alone. Thank you for your beautiful writing. I enjoyed it!

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      August 21, 2016 at 6:42 am

      We do need those constant reminders don’t we? Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts!

  5. Susan Bricker says

    August 23, 2016 at 8:50 am

    Beautiful words Caroline!Powerful truths!

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      September 2, 2016 at 7:24 am

      <3

  6. Mary Carver says

    September 1, 2016 at 9:04 am

    This is beautiful. <3

    • Caroline TeSelle says

      September 2, 2016 at 7:24 am

      Thank you Mary, 🙂

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  1. For Your Weekend - emily p. freeman - says:
    August 20, 2016 at 8:15 am

    […] Restlessness Uncovered by Caroline TeSelle […]

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Hi! My name is Caroline TeSelle and I'm currently doing life with my husband & 4 kids in our little corner of the world. Read more.

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Caroline TeSelle
November 2023 1 - Thanksgiving 🦃 2 - a Toyee November 2023 

1 - Thanksgiving 🦃
2 - a Toyee on your shoulder (not sure why @gunnar_teselle is scowling 🤣)
3 - Pop watching the tree trimmers
4 - MemoryCare with Pop
5- Toyee ☀️ (sorry you got cropped out @stoneteselle) 
6 - Cracker Barrel!
7 - finding our tree
8 - 🎄
I woke up yesterday thinking I wasn’t going to c I woke up yesterday thinking I wasn’t going to capture #onedayhh this year because the motivation wasn’t there at first and my hour to hour revolves around my parents and who knows what could happen. 

But everyday is like that, isn’t it? Who knows what could happen!?! We can’t really prepare for the unknown in our hour to hour, but we can make a choice daily to love and serve others. 

I want to remember these moments. The good, bad, and ugly. 
 
And you know what blows my mind? Three years ago, I could barely get out of bed because at the time, I didn’t know I had a heart condition. What in the world?

God is so good, because He knew I would be needed for this season of Gwendy & Pop’s life. I’m overwhelmed with gratefulness for my healing journey. 

So, yes to the hour by hour! Thank you @laura.tremaine for the #onedayhh2023 encouragement!

Scroll through the moments:

1. We make a great caregiver team! @dmswim @gunnar_teselle 
2. Good Morning ☀️ 
3. Cracker Barrel shopping
4. Nap 💤 
5. After dinner 
6. JFK series (G&P were 25 when this happened and a year from getting married)
7. Toyee’s treat trick
8. All tucked in 😴

#roommateswithdementia #familycaregiving #familycaregiversmonth #dementiaawareness
Signs of the season 🍁💛 Signs of the season 🍁💛
I’m learning during this season of life that the I’m learning during this season of life that there are so many parallels between raising children and being a caregiver to parents with dementia. 

First of all, you’re a caregiver. Their basic needs are your responsibility. The difference with children is the independence gained as they grow up. 

My parents taught me independence (or in my case, I went through a rebellious phase to “gain” my independence, but that’s a story for another day) and now they are “losing” their independence and learning to depend on others again. 

Another parallel is redirecting. 

When your child has a scary dream or is anxious about something or even a boo-boo, you validate their emotion and pain and redirect their attention. Moms, dads, teachers, nurses, doctors, etc. are experts at this. 

Validate what’s going on and then redirect to help them calm down. 

This morning, my mom was seriously concerned about the dog to the point of tears. She was convinced someone was coming to take him away. She said, “Did you see them coming?”

I gave her a hug, told her she was safe, told her the dog was safe and that I was sorry she was scared. 

Then a song popped into my head and I started singing…

“…coming forth to carry me home. Swwwwing low, sweeeeet char-i-ot, coming forth to carry me hommme.” 

Then the hand gestures! I remembered the hand gestures (thanks VBS flashback) that go with the song and started to do them as I kept singing. She smiled and giggled and started to sing with me. 

Validate. Redirect. Experience the joy that can come from a tough situation (& remember God has a sense of humor, too 😚). 

#roommateswithdementia #whatimlearning #dementiaawareness
Getting some fresh fall air on the screened-in por Getting some fresh fall air on the screened-in porch. After a few minutes of quiet, Pop says, “The leaves are waving goodbye to us.” 

#roommateswithdementia
We all need this reminder sometimes, don’t we? 💛

#roommateswithdementia
My health journey met a mountaintop today. After My health journey met a mountaintop today. 

After three years of tests, two surgeries, and various medication changes, this morning my cardiologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN told me to leave and to not come back for a year…

because my heart is pumping in the normal range! 

When I was first diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, my left ventricle was pumping at 24%. Today, it’s 56%! Normal is 50%-70%. 

There’s still so much work to be done in my health journey. I still have fibromyalgia, Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, and hypothyroidism. I’ll be on medication for the rest of my life for those as well as the cardiomyopathy. The CRT-D implant over my heart, affectionately named Pete, is there for life. And then there’s menopause. Which. is. kicking. my. butt! 🙃

But today we CELEBRATE! We mark this milestone of 56%! We praise our God and we thank our family and friends for their consistent prayers through the valleys and on the mountaintops! 💛
A letter to my mom reminding her why I’m not wit A letter to my mom reminding her why I’m not with her this week. 💛 #roommateswithdementia
August, you tried hard to break us. Covid, hospita August, you tried hard to break us. Covid, hospitals, rehab, canceled lunches, sleepless nights, confused mornings.

But we will continue to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living while we wait and walk each other home, won’t we? #roommateswithdementia
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