One day I'll be the hands and feet......

Have you ever wondered what makes people the way that they are? Do you wonder why people do the things they do? I often ponder on things that make the world go 'round. I wonder what shapes and defines us.

It's easy to say that circumstances shape us.......but it's so much more than that. Two people can go through the same obstacles in life but their experiences can vary significantly. Why is that? Why is it that some become cold and bitter while others try to learn and make things better? Why (or how) do some people excel at making life easier for others? Where does it come from?

In the past few years I've been fortunate to hear from others about how their experiences have shaped them. Some look for peace in what others would consider the wrong places. Some turn to God while others turn their backs. Some have a desire to save others from the same pain they've experienced. Some try to make you laugh and some sit quietly and just hold your hand when you need it.

I think we all seek happiness. When things go wrong we try any and every method to feed our souls - regardless of the long-term outcome what we want is to feel good again - to feel whole. When things go terribly wrong (sometimes I don't thing anything even has to be wrong, though) we have an emptiness in our soul that needs to be filled.



Grief comes in many forms. Grief over loss......loss of love, loss of a job, a marriage, a pet, loss of life. When we experience loss our minds go into survival mode. A turmoil of emotions. Loss makes an impact. The impact is usually met with woeful anticipation.

Routine is easy. Routine keeps us grounded. Routine is necessary.........but so is change.

Loss is change.

Loss can change us.....but there are so many other things that change us too.

Why do people do the things they do?

Sometimes we're never privy to that information. We don't know why people are the way that they are and we don't know what makes people tick.

Sometimes we don't understand. We don't know why some people seem to thrive on being miserable. I'd say that they don't enjoy it as much as they appear to - they're just afraid of being hurt or maybe just afraid that if the world knows the 'real' them they won't be accepted so it's just easier to appear as the awful, mean, hateful person who doesn't care.

Fortunately, most people I come across aren't like that. In fact, we've been delighted to know some of the most awesome and caring people in the world. People that may not even really know us but give so much of themselves that it makes me cry tears of joy and feel a sense of indebtedness.....Not indebtedness in a sense of owing the person(s) that has shown us such compassion, but indebtedness in the sense of showing the same compassion to someone else that is in need. Indebtedness of love. There are some gifts that don't have a price tag and there are some gifts that aren't even tangible.

I just cannot explain the love that my heart holds for our family, our friends, our community, and the community of Team Zeta. We have been extended so much love. We have been given more than what we could have asked for and more than what we even knew we needed. People always show up at just the right time with just the right thing and just the right feeling in their hearts. These are not things that are always logically explained......

and as for what makes people the way that they are? There are a lot of factors.....but I believe that we've witnessed the hands and feet of God working all around us for a very long time and for that I am eternally grateful!