Papa's hands

Something shook inside of me as I read this God-made declaration. When He opens His hand...
He gives me all I need.
I look on and imagine the care with which He made that flower, yellow and bright. It's pure planned beauty, how it's gonna live, grow, bloom, fulfill its flowery purpose. And when He cupped me in His hands as I was in my mom's belly He planned, He knew how He'd provide. And as I look around me tonight, from the clothes I'm wearing, the stacks of books on my shelves, the decorations that flood memories into my brain and the picture of He who stands before a lighthouse reminding me Who's the light, I just see I'm blessed more than ever. And it's not about just having the bare essentials. This having what I need on God's terms is having what God wants His daughter to have. Why worry, wonder, fear, when that's the case?
"When He opens His hands" ...it still hits me. I hope it always does, I pray it does! He has some very big, all-powerful loving, strong hands. And He's my papa. And yours too if you so decide.

My donut principle

At the end of an Italian exam, my teacher told me the following in his native tongue: "If you feel sad, a little sad, be positive! Think positively because God has given you much talent!" I was surprised at his words and thanked him. Those words couldn’t have come at a better moment.

How did my Italian teacher, whom I only see at the end of the week, know that I had been struggling these days with darkened thoughts and needing to be more positive?

I consider myself a generally positive person and lots of people tell me that is part of who they know me to be. But lately, oh that’s a different story. You know when you find something wrong with nearly everything and everyone around you, except a few blessed souls? When people become irritating beyond what you thought they could be? And even though they’re doing something insignificant it bothers you? Well it had happened a lot in school, and I had been critical for way too long and it was affecting my interactions with people, my mood and my performance. I was annoyed. I told Jesus to help me and I could see myself slowly progressing.

Then my Italian teacher, with his simple encouraging words, reminded me of the donut principle. And that when I focus on the donut and not on the hole…

1. My perspective shifts from the problems to the solutions and possibilities.

2. I find myself doing things with gusto, remembering what they’re for.

3. I’m happier.

4. I’m able to do more in less time or if not, I simply do a much better job!

6. I don’t shy away from difficulties knowing that I have a great God who can help me learn and rise above them!

7. I face challenges head on.

5. I can give my all, and isn’t that what I want? Life is life and it passes away!

And I’m sure there are countless benefits found from looking on the donut and not on the hole!

Jesus, thank you so much for your heavenly reminders and messengers that work as angels on this Earth. Thank you for my Italian teacher, thank you for knowing me so well and never failing to give me just what I need. Thank you so much for Windy, and how her faith-filled attitide while encountering difficulties encourages my faith! Thank you so much for Sandy, who with her set-on-being-positive-no-matter-what attitude inspires me to do the same! Bless her Jesus, she is such a sample to follow! Did you know she is taking charge of a big house, two sisters, her school work as well as countless details that show up? Yes and looking at the donut and not on the hole. It was great seeing you today, ma cherie!

Best friends have a way to shift your perspective from the ground to the dancing sunlight of Jesus’ strong, everlasting love. Thank you so much Jesus!

Thank you Jesus for my sight!

Sometimes I grumble about needing my glasses. They get in my way, they're unromantic, and they make me feel like I need to be careful rather than playful. But without them, the stars look fuzzy, loved faces meters away from mine look blurry and I'd surely end up waving frantically at a stranger thinking it's a friend.
I'm actually thankful for my gift of sight, Jesus. Increadibly thankful!
I'm thankful I can watch butterflies float by; the look of my mom's mouth wide open roaring with laughter and my dad's funny look while sitting next to her. I'm thankful I can see close to a hundred birds gather on phone wires and fly toward the horizon together. I'm thankful for the look of a couple in love dancing. The sight of my loved ones gliding through ice or stumbling a little. I love the sight of family or friends hugging each other!
I praise you Jesus for the gift of seeing happiness in the eyes of those I love. I praise you for how I can spot a dandelion and watch its dancing seeds fly away. (Even if it's into my mouth...Sandy!) I praise you for how I can see the Christmas lights shine and the manger scene make a child smile. Oh and the look of people's goofy faces! I praise you for the sight of words on paper or on a screen through which I keep in contact with friends far away, and I praise you for sight of the street that takes me to my best friend's home. Thank you for the sight of little kids with open arms running to me! And for the sight of the glistening moon in its many phases. Thank you for the sight of my sweet mom whose presence rules the kitchen, thank you for the sight of her beautiful hands and that of her head peeping in by the door to say: "I love you! Goodnight!". I praise you for the look of accomplishemnt in Adrian's face when he completes a drawing and likes his work or when he's concentrating on something. Thank you for the sight of Nina's curls, laughing face and the excited look she has when she comes to tell me something. Thank you for the sight of my dad's moustache, his hands at the wheel and the way he looks when he has kissed my hand. I praise you for the sight of the woods lighting up when the sun comes to greet them and the display of beauty when the sun says goodbye.
Not to mention the gift of touch, smell, taste or sound!
You've honestly made life great, beautiful, spiced up and intersting!
Thank you so much for my senses Jesus! I don't think I can properly thank you for things, but I'll keep enjoying them and I'll tell you more how appreciate them so, one at a time! It would be tragic to have one of my senses go missing and only then realize how blessed I am in being able to experience them to the full! 'Course, that's up to me. Help me, dear Love!

"Enjoy the little things‚ for they are the essence of life. Appreciate the senses I have given you; use them to their fullest. When you look, see. When you eat, taste. When you hear‚ listen. When you touch, feel. When you smell, let the scent fill your whole body. It is only when you take My blessings for granted that life loses its luster." -Jesus

The Christmas tree

I felt sheer joy to reflect on this. I realized that these could be my words and felt happier yet to think of all who can say the same! I love you!

"A Christmas tree! What a beautiful sight! But what does it mean to me? I wondered, as I gazed at the Yuletide display before me.
The evergreen tree—it symbolizes Jesus, who lives in my heart for good. He never dies away in the winter of my difficulties, but is always with me.
The star on the tip-top of the tree is like that unforgettable star that lit the way to the first humble home of my Savior two thousand years ago. It also reminds me to always look up, that there’s always a shining star of hope, even in my darkest nights.
The baubles and pretty decorations are the good, happy things that fill my life with spice and delight. I don’t take time as often as I should to thank God for all my blessings, or even for the sad things and the hard times that have made me into the person that I am today. Life wouldn’t be life without both joy and sadness, the good and the bad.
The colorful string of lights reminds me of the things God does to light my way through life. “His Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” I never need feel alone.
And last but not least, the presents under the Christmas tree symbolize my gifts to Jesus. It’s His birthday, after all. The most meaningful gifts are gifts of love—time, friendship, company, giving, forgiveness, and understanding. I give Him gifts each time I give from my heart to others.
The heart of Christmas is not in the presents we give, but the love that we share. This is what makes Christmas."—Amanda White

My theory

The most fun things in life...

...are simple.

-huuge smile!-

Roses and thorns

I woke up this morning hearing my mom's voice calling my name and saying "Stephanie, you forgot to put the alarm clock on, get up!" "What day is it?" -I was that lost.
I got ready in record time and only thanks to Jesus I didn't miss my bus. But before I ran out the door I somehow managed to get a quote from my quote bottle, I read: "He who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers." I pictured a rose bush in my head and smiled, bearly thinking on the deeper meaning of that quote. I put it in my pocket for later examination.
In a few hours I was in school engrossed in a book, but I let my thoughts twirl downwards and with them went my feelings. It was like losing reasons to smile, reasons to sing, reasons to be happy. It wasn't the thought of one problem that troubled me, it was the thought of them all. I couldn't believe that even the beautiful day couldn't make a change in my mood. "I guess so" I thought. I excused myself, left my book and went to the bathroom to pray. Yes, to the bathroom. I told Jesus I didn't know what was happening to me, that I didn't want to just lose it, lose my joy and crumble at the thought of my little troubles that felt so big to my emotional side. I told him about one in particular, how I was missing someone very much, a person who most likely won't ever think of me as I do of him. When I was done explaining the matters of my heart, I waited for him to do the miracle in my heart and help me.
He did so wonderfully.
I decided I'd work on a project pending. I searched in my computer for something and the results showed a list of poems and stories about gratitude. No idea how it had anything to do with what I was looking for, but yes with what was in my heart. I remembered the quote about roses and thorns I had read in the morning, I had my answer.

I've been countin' up my blessings,
I've been summin' up my woes,
But I ain't got the conclusion
Some would naturally suppose.

Why I quit accounting troubles,
For I had half a score,
While the more I count my blessings,
I keep a finding more & more!

There've been things that weren't exactly
As I thought they oughtta be,
And I often growled at problems
For not a peppin' me.

But I hadn't stopped to reason
What the other side had been,
How much of good & blessing
Had been thickly crowded in.

For there'd been a rift of sunshine
After every shower of tears,
And I found a load of laughter
Scattered all along the years.

If the thorns had pricked me sometimes,
I've good reason to suppose,
Love has hid them often from me
`Neath the shadow of the rose.

So I'm gonna still be thankful
For the sunshine & the rain,
For the joy that's made me happy,
For the purgin' done by pain.

For the love of little children
For the friends that have been true,
For the Guiding Hand that's led me
Every threatenin' danger through!

Beautiful, no? I think so. And it's every bit true in my life.
George Matheson wrote:
"My God, I have never thanked Thee for my `thorn'! I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my `thorn'; I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my `thorn'. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow."

There's no roses without thorns.

Thinking of better days

Sometimes I get into thinking:
"I can't wait for this and that to happen", "If only I had just the one to share my whole life with!", "When I get better at doing this or that I'll be so happy!".
It's like putting off happiness, waiting for better days to knock and enter my doorstep.
Why don't I make the better days now?
If I remember that joy and sorrow, good and bad, pretty and ugly accompany us all the while, no matter our ages, state or season, frankly this season can be the best!
There's no reason why I can't have the best of times now. Surely things aren't perfect, circumstances have a knack for changing. And the times I wish I were exactly on the other side of the world with someone just for a few hours, makes me realize that I'd want more, and that with human nature circumstances and conditions won't ever be enough.
So am I gonna let my dreams come true and pass me by because I was reaching out to some other new longing and desire, some other new thing I didn't have?
Will I fail to enjoy my dreams that have already come true today simply because they don't include every single one I want?
If I do, that just makes me ridiculously bratty and so sadly, blind. Honestly I don't know which one's worse.
Let me tell you some about my dreams come true:
~I've got wonderful friends who genuinely care about me, love me and wish to see me succeed.
~I'm with my family: two siblings, mom and dad.
~I have Jesus, fulfiller of dreams, and I know that whatever takes time or doesn't happen here on Earth, there's eternity in Heaven where all dreams do come true.

On the same topic, I'm going to University! Not exactly in my list of dreams for long at all, but it means that my dream of playing a part to have more English literature translated to Spanish can come true, and that perhaps I'll be an useful interpreter one day -grins-!

So darling Jesus, I want to enjoy every step I take and make the better days today! I commit to doing so with your hands touching my heart and opening my eyes helping me to see things as they truly are.
Thank you for all that you are and do! Can't thank you enough.
Thank you!

"I love my wall!"

This story stroke my heart like a benign lightning -smiles-:

One Saturday after our excursion to Pizza Hut, the mall, and a movie, I drove my ten-year-old goddaughter Samantha to her family's new residence. As we turned off the highway onto a dirt road that led to her house, my heart dropped to see that she and her parents were living in an old school bus in a field.
As Samantha showed me around her family's quarters, I began to feel sad that this little girl whom I love so much was growing up in such a shoddy environment. As my eyes painfully fell upon rusted seams on the metal walls, cracked windows, and a leaking roof, I realized that her family had fallen into bare, subsistence living. I wanted to rescue her from such a barren plight.
Looking up at me with her big brown eyes, Samantha asked me, "Would you like to see my room?"
"Okay," I answered hesitantly.
The child took me by the hand and guided me up a makeshift staircase that led to a small wooden addition that had been superimposed over the roof of the bus. I shuddered to observe that her room was in the same condition as the rest of the place, just barely livable. Looking around, I noticed one fairly attractive element of her abode, a colorful tapestry hanging over the one section of the room that could be called a wall.
"How do you feel about living here?" I asked Samantha, waiting for a glum response.
Instead, to my surprise, her face lit up. "I love my wall!" she giggled.
I was stunned. Samantha was not kidding. She actually enjoyed the place because of this colorful wall. The child found a touch of heaven in the midst of hell, and this is what she chose to focus on. She was happy.
I drove home in a state of awe. This ten-year-old saw her life through the eyes of appreciation, and that made all the difference. I began to consider all the things in my life that I have complained about. I realized that in my preoccupation with what isn't there, I have been missing what is here. While focusing on rusty metal, I have overlooked some colorful tapestries. I made Samantha's statement my meditation: "I love my wall!"
Gratitude is not the result of things that happen to us; it is an attitude we cultivate by practice. The more we are thankful for, the more we will find to be thankful for. I heard of a woman named Sarah who lay in a hospital bed after an accident, deeply depressed, unable to move any part of her body except the little finger on one hand. Then Sarah decided she would make use of what she was missing. She began to bless the one finger that could move, and she developed a system of "yes" and "no" communication with the little finger. Sarah became grateful that she could communicate, and she felt happier. As she blessed the movement, her flexibility increased. Soon Sarah could move her hand, then her arm, and eventually her whole body. It all started with the critical shift from complaining to blessing.
Jesus taught, "To him that hath, more shall be given; to him that hath not, more shall be taken away." Jesus was elucidating a supremely important principle. Jesus was teaching the importance of concentrating on what we have or want, rather than on what we lack or do not want.

Pancakes from the sky

A chat one day:

Sandy: I know, we feel there should be something more outstanding. when, if we just cared to look around, we'd see that flower budding that baby smile, that heart felt hug
Sandy: that beautiful smile
Sandy: and simple I love you's
stephanie: (huge growing, growing smile)
Sandy: and the whole world turns into a rainbow
Sandy: if we could only stop ..
Sandy: and appreciate
Sandy: but we don't
Sandy: we instead look at the mud, the puddles, our imperfections.
Sandy: you know what we need?
stephanie: or other's..
what?!
Sandy: a pancake to fall from the sky and hit us
Sandy: yeah
Sandy: hahaha
stephanie: hahhahahahaha
stephanie: hummm.. yumm!

Colorful

Life looks pink very few times, but who wants pink when there's a whole array of beautiful colors and hues?

"Life's little instructions"

I discovered a great list, called "Life's little instructions".
A 95 year old, successful man named William Snell wrote it for a young friend on 1993, the year I was born. And I loved it!
I think old people are mighty interesting. I have a feeling that they all, even if they hide it, know how to truly live life. (Gotta go visit my grandma!) 'Cause they've lived their life, they've gone through it, they've had to weather its heavy storms, they've fallen and gotten back up again, or they may know just what not to do. I could be wrong, each person's a whole world.
But to me, when a person lives well, its a privilege to take sips of the richness of the vintage wine their life created, and see what we'd like to make of ours...I would've loved to meet this man.
Each of the next points could get me talking for hours, but I'll leave it to your imagination.

Cheers to this rich glass of wine!

Sing in the shower.
Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
Never refuse homemade brownies. -huuge smile-
Strive for excellence, not perfection.
Plant a tree on your birthday.
Learn three clean jokes.
Returned borrowed vehicles with the gas tank full.
Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
Leave everything a little better than you found it.
Keep it simple.
Think big thoughts, but relish small pleasures.
Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
Be forgiving on yourself and others.
Say "thank you" a lot.
Say "please" a lot.
Avoid negative people.
Wear polished shoes.
Remember other people's birthdays.
Commit yourself to constant improvement.
Have a firm handshake.
Send lots of valentines cards, sign them.
Look people in the eye.
Be the first to say "hello".
Return all things you borrow.
Make new friends but cherish the old ones.
Keep secrets.
Plant flowers every spring.
Have a dog.
Always accept an outstretched hand.
Stop blaming others.
Take responsibility for every area of your life.
Wave at kids in school buses.
Be there when people need you.
Don't expect life to be fair.
Never underestimate the power of love.
Drink champagne for no reason at all.
Live your life as an exclamation, not an explanation.
Don't be afraid to say, "I made a mistake".
Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know".
Compliment even small improvements.
Keep your promises no matter what.
Marry only for love.
Rekindle old friendships.
Count your blessings.
Call your mother.
And your father too, if they happen to be alive.

The best monday

When one lives happy days, even when nothing outstanding takes place, but instead it's a string of many lovely, simple and worthwhile little things, one feels alive! -and doesn't want to forget what it's like. Those days make you realize how beautiful things are an every day happening. Sure the world is going in a spiral downwards...but someone told me you don't have to go with it. And I don't want to.
It's not about creating a blissful illusion or a reality that doesn't exist, it's just recognizing like Agatha Cristhie said, that being alive is a grand thing!
And in honor of this one Monday I've lived...I shall make an effort to love all Mondays from now on.
I was remembering recently a quote that read: "You wanna be happy? -expectant grin- then, be." -Oh...-
About this very day all I can say that I haven't already is:

Life, real love, truth, beauty and simplicity -these things can make me cry tears of joy almost any day.
Thanks for them God, they're the part of Heaven that's on Earth -smiles-

Throw your hands up in the air!

I just fell in love with the above quote..

"Don't ruin today"

"You cannot change the past; But you can ruin today by worrying about tomorrow."
I have a feeling that was written for me.
And the truth is..God is in control, He'll take care of that which concerns me. Why work myself into a tizzy, when there's an Awesome, Loving God to take care of it? I don't know.
He worked out the past, He's working out the present -and I tell you, its pretty goood!
And He will work out tomorrow, just like He did in the past and brought me here, to where I am today.
That's right Steph, just trust.

Omg those crunchy dry leaves are killing me!
(I wanna step on them!)
I'll enjoy the spring for now...there's actually a sweet smell in the air!

To my girlies

In an ice cream container I read: "There are lots of reasons to celebrate, look around, and pick one!"
And I want to celebrate you my girlfriends! -beautiful, crazy nutcases whom I wouldn't be the same without.
It's a celebration in thankfulness for friends like you, who stick through thick and thin, who know what makes me feel ashamed of myself, and still love me, in spite of myself.
You choose to stick around bearing my burdens, helping to heal my wounds, watching my back, inspiring me to love better and give my best shot at life. You encourage me, and by seeing the best of me you help me to believe in myself. You remind me that there's nothing love can't do, no place love can't reach. You remind me that there isn't anything in this life that can't be conquered, because you are fighters yourselves.
You're many times just the reminder I need, telling me that I'm not alone. And it's true, I never am.
You are more than enough reason to celebrate, not just now but to live celebrating!
Not many are blessed with such friends like you, sisters, angels in disguise...and partners for crazy moments.
To you! (clink, clink)
I love your girls -smiles- thank you for your unconditional love. You take me as I am.

Rail tracks of life

Life rides parallel rails of blessing and adversity.

I just loved this article so I had to re-post it~
“Why does life have to be a series of ups and downs?” one young woman put it. “Why can’t I just go from one mountaintop to another, from one up to an upper up?”
I understand her attitude, and I’ve shared it. The only difference is that I told myself, “I’m realistic enough to know you have to go down before you can go up again.” But I still kept looking for the peak experiences, even if I was willing to wait a bit.
But what if peaks and valleys aren’t the best way to describe life? What if God didn’t intend us just to endure down times so we could enjoy an occasional up?
Rick Warren, pastor and author of The Purpose-Driven Life, made an observation a couple of years ago that seems to describe the terrain of marriage. In a single year, his book reached the top of the bestseller lists and his wife was diagnosed with cancer. A mountaintop? A deep valley? Or something else?
“This past year has been the greatest year of my life,” wrote Rick, “but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys—you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth.
“I don’t believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.”
For a train to make progress, it’s always in contact with both rails. Life rides parallel rails of blessing and adversity.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” writes David in Psalm 23, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.” This songwriter of the Bible is describing a comfort and relationship that emerges only in the difficult times. In fact, the closeness of that relationship develops in the difficult times.
Likewise, as we mature in life, we begin to notice that joy and difficulty aren’t either/or. They coexist constantly.
“No matter how good things are in your life,” writes Warren, “there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.”
So maybe the purpose of life isn’t about always looking for the next mountaintop.
Joy and difficulty are an odd combination, but much of life is lived seeking one and avoiding the other. I used to think they came one at a time, like alternating currents. Now I realize they’re both present, all the time.
I’m developing eyes to see both simultaneously.
On our honeymoon, Susan and I chose the wrong day to spend at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay, Florida. Shortly after we paid our admission and entered the park, a tropical storm moved in and dumped more than four inches of rain on us.
Within minutes we were soaked. Normally, the idea of spending several hours in sopping wet pants, shirts plastered to our skin, and shoes squishing water with each step, is not my idea of a good time. It could have been a miserable day.
But I was with the woman I loved, and she was with me! We took photos of each other splashing through puddles with our stringy hair arranged in crazy ‘dos. That was the first time in our marriage that I realized joy and difficulty could coexist. But it wasn’t the last.
In fact, it was such moments of conjoined blessing and adversity that prepared us for more challenging times. When we gave birth to a daughter, Mandy, who was severely retarded, whose condition made her unable to sit up, hold her head erect, or use her hands to grasp, we were again put to the test to see if joy could coexist with adversity.
One night I sat in a hospital emergency room, where we’d been forced to take Mandy after an extended seizure. I couldn’t make sense of the extent of Mandy’s suffering.
I thought, I never realized someone could suffer so much.
When she died within two weeks of her second birthday, I didn’t think I’d ever be totally happy again. The depth of grief was indelible. I would never forget her difficult and way-too-brief life with us.
But as Susan and I experienced the help and kindness of Christian friends, we learned that joy was still there. We knew moments of joy even in the midst of the pain. We were deeply grateful, for instance, for Sarah, a respite worker the state provided to help care for Mandy. She became a dear friend, and we stayed in close contact even after Mandy’s death. Now, years later, Sarah is helping plan the wedding of our oldest daughter. It’s not a carefree mountaintop experience, because we recognize the grief from which it came, but it is most definitely joy.
As Rick Warren said: “No matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ-likeness.
“You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, which is ‘my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.”
I’m glad that life isn’t just mountaintops and valleys, but that both joy and adversity are with us always. (Marshall Shelley is coauthor of Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham [Zondervan]. He and Susan have been married 23 years.)

Jesus, you gave us such a beautiful world

Help us to enjoy it

More mistakes

Most of us hate mistakes -wholeheartedly! The thought of being wrong, of blowing it again.
Yet I was remembering, while I sat on a green sofa with all intentions to study for my coming Philosophy test, how many people who have lived life fully become pretty carefree. There was a man who once said: "If I could live again, I'd try to make more mistakes (Here you have my wide eyes). I'd relax more. I'd climb more mountains. Swim across more rivers. Pick more daisies. I'd suffer more real problems and less imaginary ones."
I realize I am afraid of making mistakes, the big ones that you can't fix. Or the little stupid ones that mess up things and ruin them. Then I think, "thank God that my decisions or bad decisions at that, don't affect so many others; thank God that I don't have big responsibilities hinging on the outcome of those. It'd be very different if I had kids to look after for instance..."
I feel it's safer to make mistakes now, because I don't have heavy responsibilities. But I think I'll spend all of my life learning that mistakes are good for me, cause if not, how would you have me learn?
The man's name was Don Herold, and he wanted to make more mistakes.
I guess he wanted to learn more -from them.

Joy in Self-forgetfulness

Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind since childhood, said:

"Is it not true that my life, with all its limitations, touches at many points the beauty in life? Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn whatever state I may be in, therein to be content. Sometimes, it is true, a sense of isolation enfolds me like a cold mist as I sit alone and wait at life's shut gate. Beyond there is light and music and sweet companionship, but I may not enter. ... Silence sits immense upon my soul.
"Then comes Hope with a smile and whispers, 'There is joy in self-forgetfulness.' So I try to make the light in others' eyes my sun, the music in others' ears my symphony, the smile on others' lips my happiness."

At times what helps me gain perspective when I'm mad, sad or disheartened is to think of others who have it a lot worse than I do. And yet, they still get up in the morning, they still shine on life with their smiles, they keep trying and making the most of what life gave to them. There are those people, and I want to be one of them.
History has shown, that those with seeming lacks, physical hindrances or limitations, at great odds or with big difficulties, overcame. It didn't matter what it was.
Helen Keller, Fanny Crosby, Isaac Watts, Renoir, the apostle Paul are a few names I can think of.
They each learned to be content with what God had given them, and yet they weren't complacent. They went beyond what the world thought they could do, and even jumped outside the limitations they had placed on themselves.
I know achieving contentment in life is hard, but if there's people who can, then I can too. Their lives are a living testimony to it, even if it's passed.
And I have it so much better.
Why not do it and strive to be content in "whatsoever state I'm in"? It's doable, and I have every reason to do it cause my life will be better as a result, even if it's tough.
Today I heard: "If it's not worth fighting for, maybe it's not worth attaining".
It didn't have any relevance to this, except it showed me how worthwhile things have a price and must be fought for. Being content in life is worth it to me. Help me Jesus.
I toast to Helen Keller, to blindness and to sight, to sickness and health, to rich and poor, to hard times and happy times, to simplicity. And to having our eyes open to how beautiful life is, as rough as it is, it's still worth fighting for!

Living life

When life feels like a constant battle, it also means it can be a constant victory.