By Happy New Year! This challenge is from my gratitude calendar. It’s about recognizing (positively) the impact big challenges have on who you are.
When we look back on our lives, we see that it is often our most challenging emotional experiences that burnished us into brighter shining.
I’ve tried to live my life without regret…knowing that each mistake I made also made me who I am today…and I think I’m okay. I’m not perfect. I’m not aiming for perfection. I’m a kind and caring person who loves to laugh and sing and is ready for anyone and everyone to come join her on the playground of life.
So for this challenge I look back at a difficult time in my life. I was in Louisiana, starting a new job, away from my twin sister who I love dearly and away from my mom, who was struggling with dementia. And I was in a marriage that wasn’t what I had hoped for. I can’t wish I hadn’t gone to live in Louisiana, because I was forced outside my comfort zone. I made some friends; I got to participate in a chorale group; I got to attend a few Mardi Gras parades. I got to see a different part of the country and eat some amazing food. I grew as a person even as lots of my life was falling apart. Shoulda, woulda, coulda? Nah. I’m where I’m supposed to be. God has put me here for some reason, even if I don’t know or understand it all yet…and maybe never will understand it.
So…challenge yourself to look at a hardship you experienced and view it as something that made you shine brighter than ever.
And to inspire you even more, here’s a link to Martina McBride’s “This one’s for the girls” which has my favorite line about wrinkles:
Every laugh, laugh line on your face
Made you who you are today
Two crazy girls at 70s night on the Eastern European cruise