Embrace It All

I was reminded today about the importance of being thankful. It's easy to give thanks to the Creator on good days when everything is going your way, when that big promotion comes in, or when you meet someone new who makes you laugh, or maybe you finally found something you thought was lost forever behind the sofa.

But on those days, when everything seems to go wrong, or you find out you've lost something, can you still be thankful? Remember that every day is an opportunity to grow, to learn something new about yourself, to take that next step toward becoming the loving person you always knew you could be. Even our most difficult lessons are blessings in disguise. In fact, we are here to make mistakes, to learn some new lessons. This is school. Your life is exactly as it should be.

Sometimes, our "worst enemies" are our biggest allies. Wouldn't that surprise them to know this? But it's true. These souls teach us something special about ourselves: what we value, our ability to rise to the occasion and our capacity to forgive. This is not to say that we shouldn't protect ourselves from negative energy, but it is far better to simply pray for our adversaries and move on. Bitterness corrupts the heart and stunts our growth. Remember: no one is perfect. A little self-examination usually reveals some hidden truth about ourselves where we need to improve. Before moving on, don't miss these precious nuggets of wisdom.

Today, I went down my list of people...the ones I feel have "wronged" me. I was surprised at how many were on my list. And I thanked God for every one of them. And then I said a prayer of thanks for all of my hard lessons of late. For being humbled one more time, bringing me closer and closer to the One who sees all things and knows all things and loves me unconditionally, even if it means letting me fall.

As August turns into September, I will enjoy this new harvest of experience and love to guide me as I continue on my soul's journey.