When the SMILES Don’t Come

Some days I’m tired – tired of trying to make up for the past and all of its mistakes.

Some days I’m overwhelmed – overwhelmed by all that it takes to simply live, to simply survive.

Some days I’m sad – saddened by what I’ve thrown away, what I’ll never have.

Some days I’m weak – so weak that it’s all I can do to get out of bed.

Most days I’m ashamed –

ashamed that I don’t have it all together,

ashamed because I know I need to get it together,

ashamed because I don’t know how to pull it together.

As it turns out, I’m human.

Very human.

In this life, there are going to be seasons when the SMILES seem far away. There are going to be times when darkness seems to overcome, drowning out even the smallest ray of light. There are going to be moments that grab us so tightly that all of our hopes seem to fall lifeless in each crushing grip.

These times are merely seasons, moments that may stay awhile but that also leave just as quickly as they come.

Seasons change.

Seasons of doubt give way to seasons of hope.

Seasons of trouble transition into seasons of peace.

Seasons of despair and sadness are replaced with seasons of Joy.

Joy.

We are promised that it comes with each new morning and if we look hard enough, I know we’ll see morning’s light peeking through!

Advertisement

HAPPINESS in the New Year

I don’t know about you but I’m ready to say “Good-bye” to 2018. This past year has felt like one endless struggle to keep afloat in the tumultuous waters of life. And let me tell you, treading water has never been my strong suit.

So as the clock ticks toward midnight, I’m looking forward to kicking 2018 to the curb.

Sayonara.

See ya.

Good riddance!

The problem is, though, flipping the calendar page does not ensure that the struggles of the old year, the messes, the dilemmas, the hurts, are going to disappear.

If only it were that simple.

But the coming of a new year, a new beginning, gives us the perfect opportunity to embrace a different outlook, to change the way we view our world and to embrace the hope of good things to come.

Happiness can be yours – and mine – in 2019. It’s true! (I’m beginning to sound like an infomercial! For just one down payment of $19.99 and 3 monthly payments of $49.99, you, too, can find your bliss in the new year!! Ha! Ha! I need to be in bed. 😉 )

Seriously. No matter your circumstances, no matter the struggles that are following you into the new year, the one thing that can make the difference between faltering under the heavy burdens of the past year (or years) and freeing yourself from binding chains allowing you to live each day of the new year (and years to come) to the fullest is…

… your perspective.

Problems will always abound. How you approach them is key. Do you buckle under their weight and succumb to the siren song of “Woe is me”? Or do you search for the lesson behind the struggles and look forward to the wisdom and growth you will gain from your endurance?

Don’t spend your new year throwing pity parties! Happiness cannot live where complaining takes up residency.

Embrace the struggles as growth opportunities. Step back and look for the big picture. And remember, these situtations are only temporary.

God’s Word says this:

“Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4:16-18‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Well, the sound of rockets bursting in the air tells me that we’ve completed another trip around the sun. WooHoo! It’s a new year and as we begin this next revolution, let’s remember to keep our focus on the eternal unseen – the hope of “an absolutely eternal weight of glory.” That’s it right there, folks. Your new perspective for 2019!

How can you change your perspective in 2019? Do you have any problems, situations or people that you need to view in a different light?

*****When you have a moment, go check out the post, Lean Into Loneliness, by Dr. Andrea Dinardo at Thriving Under Pressure.  What an inspiration it was for me this week and a reminder to “make the space for the lesson beneath the suffering.”*****

Happy, Happy New Year!

A Year of Smiles – Day 260

Reason to SMILE #260: A CLEAN SLATE

 

Yesterday is behind us.

The night has washed the past away.

The only thing remaining

Is a clean and empty slate.

 

The morning sunlight rises

And with it, hope is born anew.

A precious gift – a promise –

Is this day God made for you.

 

A new week is upon us. A week filled with new opportunities for…

… absolutely anything you can imagine!

But don’t forget to include a whole lotta SMILES!