Victorious

I graduated from a course I was taking with the Army this weekend. The course had been from the beginning of September till yesterday. February 10th. It was a long and albeit painful process. The emotional highs and lows, the physical, mental, and spiritual weariness as we didn’t think we could possibly go on any longer; was all somehow justified as we stood up, marched forward, and received our goal. A little piece of paper that said "Congratulations on finishing course 1126." We saluted, and marched back to our place in the formation. As we watched our course mates go up to the front, we were filled with joy and a sense of accomplishment at what we had all just done. Months and months of preparation for this final moment. As the turned, the smiles that lit their faces was something that couldn’t be caught by a 'Kodak moment.' It was an instant in time where all the air in the room seemed to be sucked out and replaced with a suffocating sense of victory. It had been a long race, but we had finished; some on our knees and panting for air and others with their arms over their heads in an expression of complete and utter victory. We had finished.

It made me think. Why do we put ourselves through pain and hardship?  Being a 17 year old, 5'4, 110 pound, blonde, female, I was probably the last person anyone would ever chalk up to be in the military. Bombarded with constant criticism, challenges, and outright slander, it was some of the hardest moments in my life. There was multiple times where I thought of quitting. Just giving up, going home, seeing my family, and sitting on my couch and watching 'How I met your mother.' It looked like a really good option on more than one occasion. But, there was always something that kept me going. Through every push-up, every 13k run, every excruciating moment where I didn’t know the answer and got punished for it, there was a goal. A foreseeable future. That piece of paper and the massive smile I would have at the end was something that I could hold on too.

We all have something that we believe in. There is no doubt in our minds that it’s true. The road might be hard and rocky; the sky might look black and foreboding, and you can see the rain just pouring in the distance, but you have something. We all have that ‘piece of paper’. The hope to strive for. So get up. Go get it. It’s useless if we just sit back and say 'Wow. I really wanted that.' It is in the future and the truth is; we CAN have it. Keep that picture in mind. Through the foreboding clouds, through the rain; keep going. Make your goal your umbrella and march on to victory.

Mirror Mirror On the Wall

As you look in the mirror, do you see someone that you are proud of?

Look in your eyes. What do you see? They say that your eyes are a reflection of what’s in your soul. If that's true, then when I look in my eyes I see a hurting, slightly shy girl who is masking her insecurities behind popularity, achievement, and pride.

When we were young, we used to dream about how we would be like when we were older, more mature. We had plans. We would lie there for hours just imagining what it would be like to be 'grown up.' Now that we have reached the grown-up years, are we what we imagined?

Life is full of compromises and challenges. We bend and break ourselves to fit reality. But the honest truth is there is always something about ourselves that we think 'hmm...that could be better.' or 'I wish it wasn't like that.'

So my question is, why don’t we change it? Where is the motivation? We need to get up; change things... start making a difference in our own lives. We all say that we want to make a difference in this world. Actually physically make the world a better place. The truth is, none of that will happen until we get our own lives semi-figured out. Start now. Change something...make it better.

Taking small steps towards the person we dreamed about when we were five, the person that we wish we were now, and the person that we will be proud of being when we're 80. Make that person, a reality. Today. No more waiting. Move.

Let it rain, let it pour

The moment where your world comes crashing down around you and you realize, not for the first time, that life isnt perfect and never will be. There are moment where you can almost see the light. A ray of hope in someones eyes, a glint of sunshine in someones smile; but just like that the moment passes and life is once again filled with the ever darkening rain clouds. You look up at the sky and wonder why it can't just clear up for once. You run home...hoping that your legs will carry you fast enough to get to shelter in time, but the rain comes down. Catching you in a cascade of doubt, fear, you name it, its coming down in torrents. A torenchial downpour. Where is the hope? The reason for living?
Stop a moment and stand there. Life goes on around you and leaves you spinning. Throw up your hands in surrender and look up at the sky and feel the rain fall down on your face. Pain just means your still alive, still going on. No matter how hard life gets, keep going. Forever more truging through life. Rubber boots and an umbrella.

Umbrella Shop

Life is hard. We encounter things every day that leave us
reeling and wondering why we even try to go on. We wonder what the right way
is; where to go and even why to go there. What’s the point of life?
It rains, and when it rains, it pours. We get caught in the
rain and can’t see three feet in front of us.
The truth is, there is always an answer. We stand there at
any given point in our lives and have at least four ways to go. Forward,
backwards, left, or right. All we have to do is choose. The rain gets in the
way, and downpours. Dampening our hearts, our spirits, and making it hard to
see.
There is a solution to that too… An umbrella.
This is my First blog. I’m posting things that have to do
with my life. Anonymous, and hopefully things that everyone can relate too.
Finding solutions together. The Umbrella Shop is an invention that God
put on my heart. I’m not going to complain about life or rant about the things
happening to me, I’m just laying everything before my God and finding
solutions. Enjoying the Rain underneath my Umbrella.