It is so easy to get caught up. Caught up in life, with busy schedules to keep and relationships to nurture. Caught up by the troubles you face and the issues you have… And in being so caught up, it’s easy to become selfishly inclined and forget the bigger picture.
I speak from experience, because if anyone knows the feeling of realizing how selfish one has been thinking, it’s me.
Something I have learned over and over again, especially in these last months of my life, is that no matter how hard you feel your life is at the moment- no matter the trials and challenges you face- doesn’t mean that everyone else around you isn’t facing difficult tasks of their own. There is no “trump” card of what is the hardest trial to face, or worst loss to suffer, because even if everyone were dealing with the same issues, we would all handle the difficulties differently. For some what seems a regular day with it’s ups and downs is an absolutely awful day for someone else. That’s not to say that some people are wimps and can’t deal with what you do. Quite the opposite actually. Maybe that same person who would regard your “normal day” as a “bad day” for them would also see your “bad day” as a good one…
Today, when we woke up, the morning was misted and chilly, almost like we’d have another rainy day. Getting out of bed was particularly hard with the extra crisp cool air around, and as we got into the car it was hard to see even just 20 yards ahead. As we drove to school though, the sun rose through the mist in such a beautiful way that made me think that the “morning dew” was a metaphor for life. Sometimes, even when blessings are right around the corner, the morning can seem dark as it has been before, sometimes making our way unclear. But if we follow the path we are meant to, and look for guidance as we go, the sun will rise and you will be blessed with a beautiful day.
“Today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present.”
I know it’s a cliche. So many things are. But there’s a reason for that! Going through such a deeply felt loss has truly testified that to me. You cannot always count that a new day will follow this one. God sometimes has plans that we will not understand. But we can use each day do live how we’d want to look back and remember. How we think would make our families in heaven to look down on us with pride.
Isn’t that what “making lemonade” is? Creating the best version of you every day.
If you’ve taken even one step closer today, toward who you ultimately want to be, then today has been a success. I, regretfully, have known too many days in my recent past where no steps have been taken. I have been fine to sit in my sorrows and wish for a new day to come without any action from me. The day I decided to get up and pray to my loving Father in Heaven for the help and assurance I needed to get moving- that day I felt the sun coming through the mist. I felt a bit of the heaviness of my heart lift, and a small pain subsided.
— I do believe the time I spent in my little eddy of grieving was an important time for me, and no I will never truly be through grieving my sons, but I do feel I have begun a new chapter of my grief, and its a little lighter in ways.
As followup from last weeks motivation searching- the best answers always come from inside yourself. All you have to do is let it out. For me, that was a prayer sent up for strength, and for others that might mean to let loose a little, or to organize more… But it’s there for all of us. The motivation to have the life you really want.
The motivation to make lemonade.
Living Lemonade 