It is easy to get lost in your own thoughts. It happens to me on a regular basis! I seem to believe my own story with an in-built bias that it is always filled with success, positive outcomes, and great results. Life rarely works that way. However, in my imagination, there are very few mistakes. Everything has a reason for not working, rarely linked to me. Everything that works has a force behind it. I need to feel good, so my imagination goes to work.
Fortunately life gives us mirrors. We see ourselves when we least expect it. Often, at least in my case, the view is not very pretty! Candidly, it is ugly. Ego emerges when I least expect it. Selfishness is a strong motivator. Fear shapes what I see. The messy reality I find myself in is one that I had a hand in making.
When I see myself in the context of great ideals, selfish acts, and real patience, there is an uncomfortable clarity. The old reminder is clear. “It quite clear that none of you can get by with blowing your own horn before God.” (1 Corinthians 1.29) We mess up. Our choices are often less than ideal. While we may have great intentions, we often fall short.
The question that these reminders leave with me is one of learning. Am I willing to grow or do I need to grieve? The choice is one of moving forward or remaining in the past. Life offers us the chance to be more today than we were yesterday. If we are to take this chance and make it into something we must be willing to learn, change, and grow through our actions.
Today is an opportunity. We can step into the present aware of the past. We can let Life use what worked along with what did not as teaching aids. This will be difficult. This will be challenging. This will require change.
Life’s conversation comes with Hope, even if I cannot see it. Life invites us into more. We can make a difference.
