Turning the pages of my life, there are some chapters I’d rather not revisit. Tough times weathered my own way, not necessarily the right way.
Perhaps there wasn’t a right way per se, bumbling about the fringes of ok and not ok, but I somehow passed through intact (if barely.)
Ever-evolving scars – some harsh and throbbing, others healed and fading – fill pages of my life (the hardest to write, and read.)
Certain moments define us, who we are, who we become.
Choices: to rise above or be crushed under life’s load.
Reactions: to multiply the good and survive the bad, learning from mistakes, seizing failure as an opportunity to grow.
“Seizing failure?” Yeah, right. (A whimsical theory reality seemingly abdicates.)
I have failed, at times spectacularly.
But what defines us, and me, is how we get up again.
And again.
To keep trying, to keep on going.
I have gotten stuck for long whiles at the end of a chapter until muddled into moving on to the next one. Other times life zoomed by so fast I could barely hold on to mark ends and new beginnings.
Yes, I have failed, and at times succeeded (by the grace of God.)
Alive to hope, love and joy – being all three.
We have choices how we write the pages of our lives. We can choose to courageously write our narrative even if the plot of our lives has spiraled out of our control.
Facing fears and myriad challenges is difficult, because this thing called life is difficult (courage required.)
It’s a choice. We can choose to courageously write hope after pages of despair leave our hearts gaping and gasping for air.
We can choose to write love, and be love.
And, get by with not just a little help, as per the Beatles, but a lot of help from our friends. “I’m gonna try with a little help from my friends…”
Who add words of hope in the pages of our lives and help us weather tough times, together.
“You aren’t an accident or an incident; you are a gift to the world, a divine work of art, signed by God.” Max Lucado
grace, peace & life pages
Virginia : )
p.s. Scribbling notes a few days ago about the pages of my life, this post crystallized after Bernadette over @ Haddon Musings posted an inspiring blog (& amazing photo) about writing the chapters of our lives. Together – with friends. You can access it by clicking here: Do Not Judge My Story By the Chapter You Walked in On
Roses in the Rubble 
Virginia, I agree with you that there are many chapters of my life that I would not want to revisit but I also know that with God’s help I wouldn’t be the woman I am today without having experienced those chapter.
Amen, Bernadette! Without God’s help I would never have made it through the difficult chapters – & getting through the toughest of times equipped my heart to later help others (by God’s grace.) 💜✨💜🙏💜✨
“…multiply the good, survive the bad,
learning from mistakes, seizing failure as an opportunity to grow”” << this statement perfectly describes my current situation n mindset! Learning and growing! 💜
Learning & growing continues, methinks, until we’re old & rickety! The older I get (just had a birthday) the more there is to learn (vs. the younger me who thought she knew it all!) 😎🎉🤗📚😎🙏💜
Happy belated birthday! Hope you had a lovely and memorable one! 🎊🎉🎈 Wishing you many more years!
Here I am again reading your words with tears of honesty, sadness and joy..keep writing..
Thanks, Carol-Jo. Blessed to have friends like you who have written pages of hope & encouragement in some of the tough chapters of my life. 💜✨💜🙏🐾✨💜
Courage most definitely required for life…. and you’re right we have a choice to keep getting up and going on with God’s help, or give up. I chose as you did… to keep on keeping on… Diane
Diane, you inspire me & others to keep on keeping on. (For me, LOTS of God’s help required!) It’s a daily choice to ‘fear not’ (ever wonder why there’s so many Fear Nots in the Scriptures?) 💜✨🙏✨💜🤗💜
Ah… thank you Eugenia.. and so right… fear is crippling…. When it was too prevalent in my life during some difficult years.. my favourite scripture to quote was ‘God is not the author of fear, but of power love and a sound mind’ Diane
You know I meant Virginia….. typo !
Nice post❤
Thanks, Eliza. Life is a gift! 💜✨💜✨
Yup..life is indeed a gift so we should enjoy it❤❤
Not losing hope amidst all the trials and tribulations. God bless you .
You inspire us, Arlene, the way you’ve courageous faced trials & tribulations – especially your battle with cancer – and keep walking by faith. Blessings!! ✨🙏✨💜✨🙏✨
“…multiply the honorable, make it the defective,
learning from mistakes, seizing nonstarter as an chance to mature”” << this statement perfectly describes my current billet n mindset! !