Reality can stink sometimes, but once we make the choice to acknowledge what is going on in our lives, and take the necessary steps to change things, we’re on our way to a better life. No, it doesn’t happen overnight. However, it does change. The most powerful change that will happen is freedom. Yes, I said freedom.
I always share a personal experience and this time is no different.Over the past few months I have been knocked on my butt several times, metaphorically speaking. I nearly lost my house, twice, and a family friend passed away in the midst of all of this. When someone you dearly love, whom you’ve sacrificed for repeatedly over the years, cuts your heart like it’s tissue paper being sliced by the sharpest sword ever made, the pain is unimaginable. That is, unless you’ve been there.
No one goes through life without challenges. The ups and down’s of life happen for a reason. I don’t know a single person who doesn’t think their life would make a great soap opera or movie. Most laugh as we say it. For some people, it’s true. As for me, I’m not ready to share my entire story, but when I am, it will be in book form.
In our darkest times, when there isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel, it can take every ounce of strength we can muster just to make it through a single day. Friend, I’m here to tell you, hold on. Don’t you dare let go. You have dreams. We all do, and they are there for a reason. Even if you’re on your butt, even when you can’t see a reason to go on, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue on until that light shines bright again.
In my years as a young adult, there were many times I wanted to die. I often laid in bed at night, crying myself to sleep, begging God to take me Home. Needless to say, God had different plans for me. In the long process of learning to stand again, then learning to fly, I fell so many times I lost count. Abuse of unimaginable levels, broken relationships, broken heart, broken trust, and indescribable life events have ultimately made me the person I am today. It wasn’t easy finding “me”, finding who the “real” me is. But I found myself, one step at a time.
It is only when we stand defiantly in the face of fear and refuse to back down that we finally start to grow into who we’re each meant to be. Something that happened to me in the not-so-distant past profoundly changed my life. I was struggling with a major decision. One day, as the time arrived to make a choice, quite literally, I saw the image of a door with a beautiful handle. There was another behind me. As clearly as it was on that day, I can still see that image. However, that wasn’t the end of it. While seeing this, I heard, audibly, “if you want what’s before you, let go of the handle”.
I knew what that meant immediately. I had to choose. Thankfully, I chose to let go of the door knob behind me and reach for the one in front of me. By letting go, my life has changed for the better. I was single, and content in life to stay that way unless God chose with whom He wanted me to be with. In due time, I met the wonderful man I’m with now. I wouldn’t have had this opportunity had I chosen to turn back.
My friends, life is never going to be easy. No relationship, personal, family, friendships or otherwise, can survive if we choose to remain in the past. Life doesn’t work that way. I know a lot of people who blame everyone else except themselves for the circumstances of their lives. Do you know how unfair that is to them? It’s a heavy burden to carry when you’re held accountable for another person’s happiness. If you genuinely want a better life, stop that. You are responsible for your own happiness. It’s your choice how your life turns out. Putting that burden on anyone else can ultimately ruin relationships of any kind.
Excuses are a dime a dozen. I’ve used that, too. It’s when I stopped doing so, life changed, I found myself to be happy, and I realized how blessed I am. It is my wish to encourage you to think about what I have said, and I mean seriously think about it. And while you do, remember: you are loved, and I am one of those people who loves you.
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