Stuff we heard

I bet almost every one of us, if asked, would easily be able to come up with at least one saying one , or both, of our parents used with regularity in our childhood.  And I'd also bet that there would be a pretty even division between those of us who loved those sayings and those of us who hated hearing them.  And further, I'd bet that almost all of us now use those very same saying, whether we loved them or hated them, with our own families....because we now recognize them for what they really were...words of wisdom.

I absolutely hated hearing my mom say "this too shall pass."  When I was growing up, adversity, struggle, and hardship were the mainstays of our family life.  I hated it then, just as much as I hated mom saying "this too shall pass."  Life just wasn't conforming fast enough to what my view of the way life should be when I was growing up. 

As I've grown older I have ever so slowly discovered:

• that I really don't control my own little world
• that often my expectations far exceed reality so often
• that God really is in charge of my life, and I need to listen
• that my little world will always have speed bumps which fall under the category of adversity
• and that there is always joy to be found, if I only look for it.

With that discovery, I have found huge understanding, and appreciation of, the wisdom of "this too shall pass." 

 

 

And I have also discovered that it is easier for me to focus on the things that cause me to say "this too shall pass" than it is to fully appreciate those things the good things and take profound joy in them.   Hmmmm, seems there might be some homework needed there.

 

Where are you in this equation?