Some days are just harder than others...........

Have you ever met or do you know someone (or is it YOU) who is constantly bitter and angry and lashing out at life.  They feel like they are being punished for something or that God just doesn't care about them - or has passed them by? 
Or maybe its not even all the time....
maybe its just occasionally...
maybe its just a rut now and then...

but then I guess - don't we all have days like that?!!

Days when you feel like nothing is going right... and the direction that you were going suddenly gets halted by something out of your control... I know I have days like that....
But tonight - I was thinking about this.....

The thing is .... God deals you a hand full of blessings every day.
They don't have to be profound things.... just little things that we forget to count as blessings.  The sun is shining OR the rain watered your garden so you don't have to.  Your child tells you they love you.  Someone tells you they are proud of you.  You get to work on time because you hit every green light that morning.  You're a nickel short on your breakfast and the guy behind you gets it. 

What we DO with that hand is what he also gives us - called "free will"
{look again}
The sun is shining {WHY is it so HOT already?} OR the rain watered your garden so you don't have to {I hate rain, my hair is a mess!}. Your child tells you they love you {he MUST want something}. Someone tells you they are proud of you {that was just a stab because they think I'm a fake!}. You get to work on time because you hit every green light that morning {I hate my job!}. You're a dollar short on your groceries and the guy behind you gets it {When am I EVER going to get my finances straightened out?!}.


A funny thing happens as time passes... all those days you spent bitter and wondering what to do and how you got yourself into this mess... in time, you look back and realize - from the outside looking in, you were surrounded by blessings.  You were surrounded with life.  You were surrounded with love.  You were surrounded by people and circumstances that God gave you....You were surrounded with things that should have made you smile... things that should have made you happy.... things that you had been ASKING God for but were so caught up in the negatives and the what if's and the why's that you let those blessings pass right on by with never even a blink.
We get so caught up in trying to "HELP" God FIX our lives, that the life he has for us - just passes on by... and we never realize it till it's too late.

I could write on here for DAYS about the mistakes I've made and the crap I've been through and the things I have done that I would be embarrassed to even tell my dog!!!
OR
I could write on here for days about the blessings and life and love that I have realized far too late that has just passed me right on by....
OR
I can talk to you TODAY about all the good in my life... all the things that I AM blessed with... all the things that I know to be true and hold dear to my heart and treasure with everything I have.  and when I do THAT - all those bad things going on around me, just don't seem so important anymore.

FREE WILL
your choice......

I have been broken, I've been battered, I've been bruised, I've been let down, I've been disappointed, I've been laughed at, I've been called a liar, I've been told I could NEVER, I've loved and gotten nothing in return, I've given and asked for nothing, I've watched my heart shatter to a million pieces, I've been filled with hope and dreams and faith for someone - only to find out that person never believed from the beginning, I've believed in people who didn't believe in themselves, I've been here, I've laughed and I've cried, I've yelled and been yelled at.........
but through it all...........
I can look back and know this.....

that everything I have been through.....everything I have felt.... all the pain, all the heartache, all the let down - is NOTHING compared to what Jesus went through on this earth and it is NOTHING compared to what we put God through every day.
and yet.......
HE STILL LOVES US!
he still hands us blessings on a silver platter every day.
he still answers prayer....

Most days we are just too bitter and blind to catch it.

Open your eyes....look around.... look through all the bad things that are happening "to you" - and think - ARE they happening TO you or are you swimming around in that little hole you dug out for yourself.  Are there blessings right on the other side that you refuse to see?

Stand up

Look around

Open your heart

and know that a man loved you enough to give his life on a cross for your soul.
Is that not enough reason to smile and take everything that he sends your way?!  =)



I can't imagine or even PRETEND to imagine the pain of losing a child like that.
But the fact that this child's father looked around and found good from tragedy is ONLY something God can give you.  You just have to choose to believe in it.

Count your blessings.
Every day.

Another good quote:
"If the problems of today are fully yours to solve...you should worry. If they are God's to solve, you should relax."

I almost forgot it was "pour your heart out" day until after I had already POURED MINE OUT!
So I'm linking up with Shell.
Please feel free to pour yours too and run over to Shell's and catch up on some others' awesome posts!