30 Days with God - Day 30

Day 30 is a day late, but better late than never, right? 

Yesterday was an incredibly great day filled with lots of fun stuff both personal and work-related, but it was also a very long day and I was exhausted by the end of it. Some days are like that - simply wonderful but also zap your energy. The biggest realization from the day was being reminded of the fact that I got to choose the day - every last bit of it. It was filled with all kinds of happenings ... helping family, meeting up with someone new, brainstorming business, brainstorming and planning networking ideas, finishing a great audio book, making a few deliveries, having dinner with my husband and son, and then, getting to see the grandpups. Days like this are amazing!

Life holds so many beautiful gifts. I was going to reflect on some of my observations from this past month, but maybe I'll do that in the next coming weeks. Right now, my focus in these past 24-48 hours has primarily been gratitude, and I just can't shake the feelings that come with that. These past 2 days haven't been perfect. There were a few not-so-great moments, but they pale in comparison to the fact that I'm surrounded by so much goodness. 

Truthfully, this month has been a series of ups and downs, and if you've been following along, you've heard about some of both ends of that spectrum. That being said, I still can't help but go back to gratitude, even through the rough patches. 

As I sit here typing, I'm thinking back further through the years and remembering some of the pain. It's not fun to revisit the pain. For a long time, I wouldn't have told you I was grateful for it. It's taken me years to find gratitude for situations that were outside of my control but that caused deep, painful wounds. 

Maybe you're struggling with finding gratitude in the messiness of life. If so, I want to tell you that it's ok. It's ok if you can't see the goodness in many areas of your life. It's ok if you only see ashes instead of beauty right now. It's ok if you don't know what you see and feel. I believe God is still there even if you don't see or feel Him. I believe this because I found His care and provision in places I didn't see it at the time, and I don't believe I'm any more special than the next person, so I believe He is there for you, caring and providing even if you can't see it right now. 

These past 30 days have shown me a deeper level of understanding with the big picture of life. I've seen goodness in the little daily things. I've found glimpses of God in my interactions with family and friends (both old and new), as well as with strangers. I've seen that if I open my heart to trust again, people worth trusting will show up, and if I apply wisdom to that, I can build strong and trustworthy relationships. Ultimately, I've discovered that what we focus on is what will manifest in our lives. If all we focus on are the ugly parts of life, then the ugly parts will continue to show up at the forefront of our thoughts and minds. If we focus on what's good (despite the imperfect parts), we'll start to see more goodness in ourselves and others.