5 Happy Things for Today

1. Long heart-to-heart talks with my Momma
2. Cheerwine at breakfast
3. Ordering a McDonald’s Happy Meal for myself at age 27 just to get the Strawberry Shortcake toy
4. Finding the perfect embroidered white shirt on sale
5. Laughing and singing in the car with my family

You know, I’m recognizing that I have a pretty great life. Nothing is ideal, and nothing is meeting my “expectations.” But you know what? Expectations are just that… expectations. You can’t live life based on expectations. You have to live life based upon the here and the now, muddling through all the messy, awful stuff to see the joy and beauty in the small things. Accepting whatever comes your way with grace and with peace. Learning to love others as Christ loves… not expecting anything in return and definitely not thinking about what “I” can get from it. 

Think about it. We cannot change our circumstances. We cannot change our past mistakes. We cannot change the fact that pain and heartache ARE going to come into our lives. What we CAN control is how we respond to all the bad things and how we respond to people when they hurt us.

I, for one, am going to choose to open myself up and take it ALL in - the good, the excellent, the bad, the terrible, all of it. I accept it as a gift. And it is. Because it is part of life.

And life is a gift.