Lessons Learned

You know how when you are in the midst of trial and trauma you think, "What is going on here?"

I know that I have on occasion asked God, "What's up?"

Today when talking to someone dear to me who is going through a trial I told her about one instance when I was walking into work, laughing....inappropriately....

I was talking to the Lord with each step.

Finally, I said, "Lord, I just want ONE normal day. Just one."

We sing a song at Truth Harbor called, "For A Time Such As This."

When I have been knee deep in my own circumstances and the problems are continuing to rise I have, at times, felt like there could surely be no way out.

And then, time passes, and I realize so have the situations that I thought would consume me.

So, here are just a few things I have learned during some of the sinking moments of my life. Who knows, maybe someone else is in the midst of their own quagmire of life and is looking for a thread of hope to grasp.

Maybe I faced some trial in the past for just such a time.

First and foremost: Not crying over spilled milk doesn't mean it hasn't spilled.

I have had my heart broken over the past several months, over the past several years. My tendency is to shove the hurt in some little dark corner and pretend all is well.

But pretending all is well doesn't make it so.

Life is full of hurts and though I am NO advocate of wallowing in self pity I have learned that I have the right to grieve, I have the right to be sad. I don't owe anyone an apology or an explanation.

On the tail of that, let me say that when you hurt I can never really KNOW how that hurt makes you feel, therefore I can't say how you should react to it.

It's your pain, just as I have mine. None of us can measure another's pain by our past experiences.

I have also learned that in life we win, we lose, and we keep on living.

Even after loss it is OK to live again. It is OK to laugh, to enjoy life.

That in no way takes away from loss, it doesn't lessen it.

It just says that your heart is still beating in your chest, your blood is still moving through your body, and thoughts are still being conceived in your brain.

Laughter really is powerful medicine.

I have learned over the years that nothing is much more important than those who love you.

Those who REALLY love you....

LOVE YOU.....

For who you are, not who they want you to be.

There are those in my life who make over me....to my face....

I know who they are because love can be felt.

See, the trick is in the knowing. That gives you the power not to let it matter to you. These statements may sound bitter or cynical unless YOU really know ME. Because if you do, then you know I feel neither. There is a peace in knowing who loves you, a freedom.

And I love that!

I have learned that at then end of each and every day I lay down to rest in my own skin. The decisions I have made, good or bad, are mine. And I have a responsibility to make sure they reflect the One that loves me most of all so that I can rest easily when my eyes close at night.

Lastly, give yourself permission to be who you are. Allow Him to work through who you are to reach His purpose for your life.

Love without ceasing, until the very last breath you draw in. And if you get wrinkled up, let it be from smiling, from laughing in spite of everything life throws your way.

"Happiness is a journey, not a destination."

Good Night, my friends......

Dearest Blog....

I have missed you.

We will visit soon! I have many things to tell you!!

Love,

Sheri