Life is not meant to be lived in a holding pattern. Restlessly and grumpily waiting for the next chapter. The, “I’ll be happy when’s” and the “if this thing would just change.” The amount of life I’ve wasted makes me mournful. Deeply mournful. The truth is all season of life have good and bad. All days, all hours are a mix of both. What I’ve found is that what happens doesn’t matter nearly as much as how we view what’s happened.
If you wake up and choose to be miserable, you will be. If you choose to look for beauty, you’ll see it. If you choose to look for problems and reasons not to, you’ll find those too. We cannot stop what comes but we can choose how we respond. Hard times are often made more difficult because of our response. You will see what you look for.
Life is short. So short. The should’ves will shorten it even more. Don’t waste your energy on what was, focus on what is. Don’t spend too much time mourning what isn’t and focus on what is. Even in the hardest moments there is goodness to see. Because in each moment there is grace.
I’m writing this at a baseball game in the middle of a Friday afternoon. The weather is absolutely perfect. It is also my dad’s birthday, a day that’s always heavy. I’ve smiled today and I’ve cried today. Both are beautiful reminders that I am alive and that I loved someone dearly. What a blessing that is. Live your life sweet friends. Time waits for no one.
