Life Doesn't Happen To You, It Happens For You
Hey there Friend,
"Life happens for us, not to us," Tony Robbins. So, what if we thought about life as happening for us instead of to us? I think if we think about life in this way more then we would embrace challenges instead of dreading them. We would see the good in life and be more grateful, yet look at the times of struggle and "I may not understand this, but I still got this!" Life isn't binary. It is full of ups and downs, highs and lows, and lots of in-between.
Many of you know I talk about God because he means so much to me. Today I want to let you guys know something that I don't share often, but I feel called to talk about today. When I was in college, I was at a time in my life where I considered God my best friend. I talked to him like my best friend. I felt like I could be where I needed to be when I needed to be so that God could use me to bless the lives of others.
Then I got married and started having kids and I felt like everything kinda shifted. I still felt moments of God's love but depression and anxiety made it really hard for me to feel God guiding and directing my life. I would have small moments of feeling peace, but for the most part I felt like God didn't talk to me the same anymore. I felt very lonely and so afraid. Today things are still not perfect, I still struggle with feelings of not understanding what God wants for my life, but as I've been able to just keep on trying to have faith and keep on asking for God's hand in my life, he is revealing his love more frequently and I am understanding how to hear him better. I have grown to understand God much differently. While I've wanted God to rescue me and help me feel his love like I once had, if he would have in that way I wouldn't have learned the things I needed to learn to be the person I am today. There is a song by Hillary Weeks called "Beautiful Heartbreak" that beautifully describes how I've felt over the years. From that perspective, I guess you could say that life was happening for me, not to me.
It took several years of feeling so down I didn't feel I could go on or reach out for help. I went to a counselor and then later hired a coach and I slowly started to recognize God's hand in my life. For me one of the biggest stepping stones was having a daily practice of gratitude. As I practiced gratitude I began to see what I already had been blessed with in my life instead of just feeling miserable. Those feelings helped me realize that God did in fact love me and my children. He cared about me deeply and wanted to see me happy. I may not feel completely whole but I'm redefining my life and what it is God wants me to do with my life.
Part of that I believe is this business. If I can bless even one person to feel more love and peace in their life because of gratitude, then it will all be worth it. We have received some reviews of how the journal has blessed others' lives and I will forever be grateful for those beautiful messages that mean so much to me.
I'm not 100% sure why I felt to share this story, but if you are struggling, I pray for you. Whether you believe in God or not I hope you can recognize that the universe, God, whatever it is you believe in will always use our experiences for our good if we will learn and grow from our experiences instead of acting in the defensive mode of this isn't fair. It may not be fair, but living in that place of anger can't lead to change! When you can see that this is happening for me, you get to choose, you get to change the story. You will recognize that if you focus on a solution or on finding peace it will come. It may take time. For me it took years, but it will come.
If you are struggling now please know you can reach out and that we are here for you! You don't have to struggle alone!
Take Care,
Christy and the family
P.S. You are still worth it! Even though you may not be who you thought you'd become, you are who your children and family need you to be