Eavesdropping on yourself can be very telling, if you listen closely. I was on the phone with a friend the other night and she said, “Did you realize that if such-and-such hadn’t happened {all those years ago}, you wouldn’t have done such-and-such, and you therefore wouldn’t be in your current situation?” (Sorry for the ambiguity there.)
And then I surprised myself. “You know what, though?” I said, “I wouldn’t change one thing about my life. I have an amazing life.” Seriously, that was my knee-jerk response. In the middle of my mess and in the middle of a long conversation talking about my mess, I was able to hold up a daisy in the middle of the garbage pile and defiantly cut through the darkness with a completely authentic “I love my life”.
My friend said, sincerely and curiously, not in a judgy or testing kind of way, “Tell me five things that are amazing.”
And I did, without even having to think.
My kids. I have the sweetest children who still pretty much love me and even though they’re teenagers, I don’t want to kill them yet and they haven’t gotten all rebellious and stuff. My friends. Oh my gosh! I cannot imagine my life without my friends. They love me so well. Had I not moved out here I wouldn’t even know most of those girls… My church. I’ve been there for almost eighteen years and though it’s sometimes hard, I grew up there and my kids are growing up there and they’re standing beside me. My speaking and writing. I can’t believe God lets me do these things that I love so much! My home. The home I’m in now and the home I’m heading to are both sweet, sweet gifts, safe havens. I love where I live and where I’m about to live. And then there’s Jesus, of course, who holds it all together and loves me and is my best friend…
This all came pouring out of me in about one minute, almost without taking a breath. Yes, my life has a hard thing in it – a really big hard thing – but it’s still a beautiful life because I’m cared for by a beautiful God.
What is your life saying when it doesn’t know you’re listening?
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Love your reminder that there is so much to appreciate and to remember that is good about our lives when we stop to consider all our blessings. Thanks for your lovely posts, I have been enjoying getting to know you better through them (and praying for you as well.) Blessings to you!
This is truth most of time we say that, I mean if I hadn’t betrayed my husband I’ll have a perfect relationship with him, so we have to live our live and learn about our fails in order to be a better person in the world.