Occasionally, I'm awake early enough to catch the sunrise at the park. I begin my mornings with prayer, so I take God along with me on those dark, cooler walks. Starting my day this way helps me reset my mind toward higher callings. Though I do my own work on the surface, I believe God is working behind the scenes to prepare me for what's ahead. For those who aren't religious, the concept is similar to investing in good habits now in order to reap the health/financial/personal benefits later.
Only I don't get to know where God is leading me until the right time—His timing, not mine.
This can be frustrating when I feel like I've put in as much effort as I can, waited long enough, trained hard enough, saved enough, etc. Sometimes hard work doesn't get us where we hope it will in this life. Maybe that's why we love stories of people overcoming incredible odds to reach a goal that we or others previously labelled "impossible."
Being an author, I get to play God in my stories. I arrange my worlds and characters the way I want them. I end up putting my characters through some truly terrible situations that I hope I never have to face, and I think things like, "This character hates life at the moment, but wait until they see the amazing place this adversity leads."
This is probably what God thinks of each one of us, whether we call on Him for help or not.
This concept mirrors real life. We all know or have heard of someone (or maybe you are the someone) who overcame a horrific accident, setback, tragedy, etc. to reach a place they never could have if they hadn't gone through it.
I volunteered with an elderly lady who had to leave her home country as a child. War and division had driven her family almost to starvation, and the American soldiers who found them ended up bringing them here and saving their lives. This lady, smiling with deep crinkles, loved this country, and she wasn't even born here. Until the day she died, she wanted to give back and help others.
Her gratitude was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
And if war hadn't devastated her home, I never would have met her. I wouldn't have this completely different "outside eye" of my own country. When my heart aches for what's happening here, and I wish things could be different, I remember that lady's grateful, wrinkled smile and her story.
It's natural to wonder what's around the corner. The control I think I have on my life is a lie. Preparation and foresight are helpful, but we can't predict every outcome and setback on the horizon. Our lives are not novels where we get to be the ultimate author, pushing and pulling the characters and situations within like ocean tides.
But we can control how we respond to adversity.
Like that lady I met at the charity, I want to be the kind of person who looks farther ahead—the kind of person who says, "This feels horrible right now, but I know God will use it for good. This pain is growing me."
Easy to say but difficult to put into practice. I will still question myself, the people around me, or why I'm in a certain place. The sooner I remember that life is a fluid, shifting journey, the sooner I remember to cling to gratitude until purpose surfaces.
Whatever low point you're in, if you're frustrated with work, family, losing your passion, I just want to encourage you to look for the growth. It's happening. The season will change, just maybe not the way you expect. We all experience it. Will we all learn and grow from it, become a person who has more compassion, empathy, and kindness for others?
I hope so.
Keep on smilin'!
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