The Gift

What, at first glance, looks like struggle or tragedy; is really a gift. We need to go through struggle in life to be able to take a step back and look at life through a new pair of glasses. In the midst of struggle it is hard to see it as a gift; but as a professor of mine once said "Look for the Rainbows in the Clouds of Life". There are always rainbows. One of the most important things to remember is that there are no periods in life, only commas (TD Jakes).The Universe knows better than we humans, as to what we need for our soul's growth. We are so busy fighting the gift; what we should be doing is take time to absorb what is happening in our lives. Allow ourselves the time needed to work through our issues. This is most likely not going to be as quick as we would like, which is a real challenge for many.  We live in a very fast paced society where patience has been forgotten. I have found, through my own struggles, that just siting quietly and taking "walks" through my life, looking at what I have learned thus far, has really helped me.

I had known for 2 years that my mom was going to die. She was my only parent, my mom and my dad. During those 2 years I had to watch cancer take her, day by day. I am not through it yet, and I know I will never stop missing her. She died on December 30th, 2011. It has not even been 4 months yet and the pain is still fresh and with me daily. One may say, you knew this was coming, doesn't that make it easier? Not really. Not only did I loose my mother, but 2 weeks after her death my husband was laid off of his job. Now that one was not expected, what a shock that was. The initial reaction is "What, are you serious?" This did not feel like a gift!  Being the introspective, positive woman that I am, I took a step back to breathe and re-focus.The conclusion I came to was "This is not the end, it's the beginning". That is exactly what I said to my husband, who was already being very positive about the whole thing. As TD Jakes says, there are no periods in life, only commas. All though it has only been a short time since I lost my mother, I can already see the gifts she has left me with. This whole experience has been a journey, which is far from over. Life is a very twisty, curvy road with no end. If you go, or have taken one direction and you do not like it, then go another. It is all up to you to use the gift of life any which way you like. Struggle is one curve in the road to teach you something, to make you better on the flip side. When you are done with that curve, you will be ready to go the next turn.