dailydatewithgod

Variety is the spice of life!  That very common saying sounds lovely, doesn’t it?  Change things up!  Be open to surprises.  Try something new.  But somehow when I am experiencing sadness I am not interested in its contrast to joy.  When I am angry I am not interested in appreciating that I am experiencing the flip side of contentment.  But the ups and downs, the ins and outs, the emotions of every part of the spectrum are the full experience of life.  Why is it that when I am experiencing difficulties it is hard for me to see that just around the bend will be an experience of ease? It is funny to me that negative experiences keep me focused on the moment and then quickly catastrophize into the future–“it’s not going to get better!”.  I have this beautiful mind that thinks when things are negative they will not turn positive again.  My mind immediately buys into the doom and gloom of the situation instead of trusting that it will pass.  And it always does pass.  Not only that but when I look back at my life, I see that those experiences that were trying and uncomfortable actually became the portal through which I experience life more fully.  Years ago I was struck by a line in a movie, “Shadowlands”.  It is the story of C.S.Lewis and his wife.  Joy was dying of cancer and when she was having  a good day they were out in the country.  She turned to him and said “The pain then is part of the happiness now. That’s the deal.” The ebb and flow of life is the deal.  When I look at nature I see the same thing.  Does the tree get angry when it loses all its leaves or does it accept that it is in the winter season of its life and when spring comes there will be new leaves on its branches?  When I am in the thick of a “negative” experience I have found that returning to my center, bringing my focus back to God, helps me to ride it out.  Maybe because in my heart of hearts I trust that my Creator is with me through it all.  My Creator wants me to experience all of life.  I am the one who puts the label of good and bad, right and wrong–it’s just life, that’s the deal.  My prayer for you today is that whether you are experiencing an upswing or a downswing that you can trust that Someone is on the playground with you. Make it a great one!  Peace~Colleen