Big Small and Everything in Between- Be Grateful

If there is one thing that I have learned in life it is that big love happens in the small moments. Whatever you have you should be grateful for it, because you never know the day that it will leave you or when your life will change. Growing up in a big family I have learned that love is a special thing, and it is within the memories that you make, that love will hold itself. I have had a lot of things happen to me in life. I have had a lot of joy, pain, hardship, laughter, but the thing that has never gone away is love. 

There is one time that I am remembering that has changed my life forever. It was a hardship, and a sad journey, but it changed me. It changed me for the better. My friend passed away when we were 12, and since that day, everything that I had known has changed. Once she got diagnosed, all I could think was, “why God? Why her and not me? What good could I possibly do that she couldn’t?” After going back and forth for a whole year questioning why something so terrible would happen to someone so young, I finally decided to let it go. Not in the sense that I would minimize the terrible thing that happened, or not feel sad anymore. More in a sense of belief, a belief that something good and something powerful could come out of this hardship if I allowed it to. 

After she passed away, my whole perspective on life changed. I started realizing that life wasn’t always going to be beautiful, I started learning that bad things can and do happen to good people, sometimes even young people too. After she left, I felt lost in life, I was angry at God for a long time and I didn’t want to believe that any good could come out of hardships even though deep down, just at 12, I knew there would be goodness even if it took longer to see it. The most important thing I learned, is that everything is sacred when you take time to notice it. Your family time is sacred, the people around you are sacred, and your life that you have been blessed with is sacred. Life is special and the people that we have the privilege to encounter with through our lives are important. We must remember to not take the ones we love for granted, because we never know what could happen. Life is a journey not a destination. If we keep this in mind, we will continue to grow freely, loving and forgiving ourselves and others along the way.  

Remember, God loves each and everyone of you. More than you could ever know. Whether you are going through a happy or sad area in your life at this moment, I invite you to pray to God. To thank him for your many blessings and ask him to come to you, purify your heart and make you whole. The Lord has always longed for you and no time is better than now to find it in your heart to love him.

What a life we get to live, 

Enjoy it. 

Maggie