Life with Helen Johnson

I’ve always been the type of person who reviews my own life. I always want to make sure I’m on the right path, and that I’m succeeding in some type of way. As I’m sure you can imagine this has led to great pressure, and often disappointment. Over the last year I’ve been on a journey of what true fulfilment looks like, and working to remove the pressures I’ve often placed on myself.

Before I begin I do want to say that the only way to receive true fulfilment in life is to have a relationship with Jesus. If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus but you’re striving for fulfilment in other areas, you will find yourself feeling empty at the end of your journey. I don’t say that to scare anyone, but instead to introduce people to the wonderful joy, peace and hope that a life with Jesus brings. At the end of this blog I will share a resource that you can use to discover more about Jesus and the Christian faith.

What things bring me fulfilment in my life?

#1 – Pursuing passions that really mean something to me

I always found an excuse not to write, or a reason why I should delay starting a YouTube channel or our walking business. But when I stop and ask myself ‘what am I passionate about?’, the answer has always been ‘helping people, through showing them my own struggles and growing together’. Sometimes life can trap us in a bubble, where we experience demands on our time, or an expectation to live life a certain way. We were all created uniquely, so therefore our passions will be unique too. Writing and filming content brings me so much joy, and of course it takes work too, but it’s worth the work when it’s something that you’re passionate about, that brings you great joy.

#2 – Community is key

When I first got diagnosed with my heart condition I shut myself away. I didn’t see friends for a long time, and looking back I suffered. I now make sure every week to be involved in community, that could be church, meeting a friend for coffee, playing music with my sister, or having tea at my parents. We were created to be in community, and when you starve yourself, you suffer. I know that life has its demands, and finding time to see friends can be challenging. But the question I ask myself ‘if I don’t have time in my week to see my family or friends, are my prioritises really in order?’.

#3 – Removing the expectations society puts on me

When I was 17 I was studying health and social care, my teacher asked a class of mainly young women ‘when is the ideal age to have your first child?’. The age everyone agreed on was 27. I thought to myself, because I’m a Christian I’ll probably be married when I’m 24, I’ll probably then have my first child at 27, and have my final child when I’m 32. Well, I didn’t start dating my husband until age 27, and I’m nearly 32 and I have no children. Why do we have these expectations? Why do we feel so disappointed when we don’t hit a certain target? Which was out of our control in the first place. I had a conversation with my husband Andy recently, and I said to him ‘let’s remove this pressure to have children immediately after my operation’. I explained to Andy that when we start trying I want it to be because we’re both truly excited to become parents, and not because it’s the next thing to do on our life’s to do list. I don’t know when we’ll start trying, but what I do know is that I’m in a better place to trust God’s timing, rather than following these list of rules of how life should be lived.

#4 – A healthy lifestyle brings me joy

I’ve recently started taking exercise more seriously. Andy and I have signed up to the gym together, so we go several times a week. We have time to exercise two or three evenings a week, and every time I go, I feel so much better in myself. The same can be said of going on a nice walk, or eating a tasty nutritious meal. I’m learning that when I look after my body, I’m looking after my mind, and because I’m physically and mentally in a better place, I feel fulfilled and full of energy. I do firmly believe that God can heal, so as we get older and experience health issues, I trust God to be a healer. However the Bible is clear that we should treat our body’s as temples, so therefore living a life that we know is going to be harmful to our physical body is not honouring our body’s in the way God calls us to. I’ve been challenged to treat my body better, as we only have one for potentially many more years to come.

#5 – Walking away from things that aren’t good for me

Now and again I pause and look at my life, and I then ask myself ‘is the way I’m living my life good for me?’. This is a big question as it makes you review your career, your home life, your relationships, your health and so much more. However it’s important we ask ourselves these big questions from time to time. When we discover that something we’re doing in life isn’t good for us, it’s time to walk away. There will always be exceptions, but for the most part a lot of the decisions we make will need reassessing later down the line. For example the job you started 7 years ago might have been great then, but now it’s time to look for something else. Or that home you moved into, you might have outgrown it. Life is always changing, and we need to grow in that change, and adapt to that change.

These are just a handful of ways I’m seeking fulfilment in my life. One final piece of advice which I’ve mentioned already, is to make sure that you are regularly reviewing your life, as often we plod along accepting what life has to bring, rather than making appropriate changes.

As I mentioned at the start of this blog, if you are interested to know about Jesus and the Christian faith please click here. There is a course you can attend which shares all about the Christian faith and it allows you to ask those tough questions that you might have. I would never promote or write about anything I didn’t believe in. I’ve been a Christian for many years and it is without a doubt the best decision I have and will ever make.