soul…

rewrite the next chapter…

easier said than done... but it CAN be done...

“Someday everything will all make perfect sense.” That’s the only part of this cute little quote that I don’t agree with. I believe that I may NEVER understand WHY certain things happen – I see my little piece of the puzzle, but I may never know why or how my piece of the puzzle fits into that big picture called Life – and that’s okay as long as I’m doing the best I can do and being the best I can be. I do believe that if I “laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears, and keep reminding myself that everything happens for a reason”and whether I know that ‘reason’ or not, my journey through life will be a lot more enjoyable. I don’t mean being blindly happy and accepting no matter what, but I do think that if I “make the best out of  every situation” I will be able to see possibilities that I would NEVER be able to see if I approach life with a “woe is me” or “life is out to get me” kind of attitude. The old saying “make Lemonade out of lemons” has been around for a long time for good reason!

I think we have all consciously or subconsciously “written” a “story” or book in our heads of how we want our life to turn out – our own personal autobiography complete with a happy ending. When “chapters” don’t go the way we had originally “written” or wished, then all we can do is let go of those chapters and do a rewrite of the next few chapters of the  story. Sometimes we need to make major changes and do a complete rewrite, and if that’s the case then that’s what we need to do – it may not be the original story we wanted or planned, but there’s a possibility it may be a better one.

As I write this, I’m thinking about choices. What is really scary for me to think about is that every choice I make is like a crossroad – the direction I choose or choice I make may very well impact the rest of my life.  If I take this job and end up living in a different city who will I meet and what challenges will I face? If I attend this church who will I meet in Sunday School that may impact my way of thinking? Even small choices I may make, like not paying attention while driving, could have MAJOR consequences on my life and the lives of those around me. The stories and chapters of my life are constantly changing based on the choices I make. Yes, sometimes things happen that I have no control over – BUT if I am completely honest with myself, I KNOW that most of what happens in my life, both good AND bad, is a direct result of the choices I’ve made.

One of the great things about being human is that we can remember going through dark times in our lives – times when we honestly didn’t want to go on; when we thought there was no positive way out – But lo and behold, we DID make it through – and not only did we MAKE it through, we came through stronger, smarter, and more confident. A lump of coal turns into a diamond when it gets pushed out of it’s comfort zone and goes through A LOT of heat and stress.  If that coal stayed in it’s comfort zone, if it never went through stress, if the heat wasn’t applied – it would have just stayed a lump of coal and it would never become the diamond it was intended to be…