The Hits Don't Stop

Life is a giver.  It dishes out blessings and laughs by the boat loads,  and it dishes out tragedy and disappointment in equal amounts.  Men being who they are,  ego maniacal beings, we look right past the blessings as if they never happened and scream to the skies "WHY ME?!?!?!" at the first sign of tragedy.  I apologize if I am a bit presumptuous in assuming that we all act this way,  but I have seen this over and over from those close to me and I have done it myself on numerous occasions. 

Life is a game.  A game that doesn't seem fair.  A game that seems like it is stacked against you.  A game that seems as though it favors everyone else at times.  The funny thing about that,  is that someone right now in your darkest moment,  is thinking about you and saying "so and so gets all the breaks".  Without the proper insight we assume that everyone else we know has it perfect.  Their game is going perfectly while we can barely stay a part of the game.  It's funny how life works. 

I have heard on many occasions someone say (and me at times) life isn't fair.  Want to know whats funny about that?  Life is fair.  Life is all too painfully fair. In your time of greatest triumph and happiness, someone some where is suffering.  In your darkest most desperate times,  that same person could be experiencing their greatest success.  A friend of mine tells me all the time that we don't know when and what people are dealing with all the time.

I have often thought about this and have had the philosophy that so much depends on how we react to those things we face.  Charles Swindoll said "The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes."

While this is a small consolation,  I have thought about this since it was first shared with me when I was a young missionary for my church.  It doesn't make things easier,  it won't stop the trials,  but it  reminds me that I can choose how I react to those things that are thrown my way.  Now with 4 children and a beautiful wife,  I want to live that quote.  I want to be the picture of strength and let them know that while it is tough,  it is not impossible.