Letting Go: How Choking Taught Me to Release Control
“You wouldn’t abandon ship in a storm just because you couldn’t control the winds.” -St. Thomas More
Life is such a gift. Sometimes I find myself overwhelmed by all the ways I’m blessed each day. But sometimes it is a little more difficult to see the blessings. I’m typically very grateful for life, but like most people, I have those moments where gratitude is a struggle. Moments when I wish I could control everything in life and am so caught up in thinking about the bad things in life that I become blind to all the good, positive things. Well, there’s nothing quite like nearly choking to death on watermelon to help keep my gratitude in check.
Kayla Hart, @hartofsilver.
The other day, I was just enjoying some fresh cut watermelon and a tiny chunk got lodged in my throat. One of my lesser known disabilities is I actually don’t have gag reflexes. As a result of this, I tend to eat slower than most people. It’s really not much of an issue, I’ve learned how to work around not having gag reflexes, however there are times when it causes problems. But because of this, it is not weird for me to cough a little after drinking water because it went down the wrong pipe. So when I started to cough after swallowing a piece of watermelon, I thought nothing at first. But within a couple seconds, I went from coughing to gasping for air. Thankfully, my mom was in the room and being used to my random coughing after eating, thought nothing of it until I started gasping. While asking if I was okay, I pointed to the container of watermelon and she knew exactly what I was saying. Next thing I knew, she tapped my back and out flew a tiny piece of watermelon. It was an exciting couple of seconds.
Earlier that day, I had been overwhelmed with worry and anxiety about little things I have no control of and focused more on the future instead of the present moment. But choking on that watermelon made me realize how there are so many times in life we just need to let it go and not always worry about being in control. When you’re choking, it is our first instinct to immediately panic and start coughing, but that often causes our throat muscles to overwork or become irritated which only makes the issue worse. By remaining calm and not worrying about being in control, it makes it easier for your throat muscles to relax and slowly respond on their own time. This might seem like an odd train of thought to some people, but after wasting my morning worrying about things I can’t control, it felt like Someone was trying to tell me something. To let it go, relax, and stop wanting to be in control. “I’ll take care of this for you.”
“God is still writing your story. Quit trying to steal the pen.” -Toby Mac
Meet Beth Puleo
Beth Puleo is a graduate of Mount St. Mary's University, an avid blogger, published author, speaker, and grant writer. She enjoys sharing her story about being a childhood brain cancer, becoming physically disabled, and overcoming the odds to discover her abilities. After being told by doctors at a young age that she would die, Beth found her strength to live by trusting in God and through her incredible family, "for nothing is impossible with God." Connect with Beth on Instagram at @eapuleo.