To all my children....the ones born to me and the ones parents entrust to me (and anyone else that might need to hear this).....
Life is hard. We're all living proof of that. We all experience pain....our journeys may be different, but pain is pain and pain is real...
Don't downplay the reality of your pain just because someone else may not understand....its your pain....and if it hurts its real....oh so real....
That doesn't mean that's all there is though.....
God never promised easy....in fact, since the beginning of time we've pretty much been guaranteed pain would be an emotion we would experience.
However, we've also been promised so much more than that...if we choose to accept it.
We're promised salvation through Jesus Christ and eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
This doesn't mean that we get to just sit back and wait to die or grieve endlessly for all we do not have and all we do not understand.
It means we are given a responsibility. The responsibility to love God, love ourselves, and love others....
We do that by being real. Sometimes it means being uncomfortable and very often it means being vulnerable. When we get to the point when we can be honest with our selves and honest with others we are able to be a light in the world.
We're able to tap into the peace only God can give.
We do this by acknowledging our hurts, our tears, and our pain....only, the tricky part is that we're careful not to get stuck there.
Instead, we allow others to be a blessing to us and in turn, we are able to become a blessing to others. Don't steal someone else's blessing by refuting their help or kind words....instead, marvel in the gift of love and friendship and pay it forward to someone else....
By accepting our pain and acknowledging it we are able to see the pain of others....we are able to offer love to someone else in need.
Pain is real.
....but so is joy.....and so is peace....
Part of it is just accepting the fact that we do get to experience happiness...along with all the ups and downs of the roller coaster of life we are able to move on....
In fact, it's our obligation to keep moving. To honor Him....to experience our blessings...and to bless others...
There's no such thing as hopelessness...God is light...God is love....God is Hope.
A journey of life, death, love.....
