Tuesday, June 14, 2022
“Real progress is wrapped in loss, failure & hardship. Without it, how do we know what we value most?” (p.364)We have been through a season of hardship these last few months. Ironically, so many of the experiences that Luke endured as a high school senior through the pandemic season reminded me of my own senior year, albeit from a less significant world view. I empathize with his loss over his senior season of volleyball and the cancellation of his senior prom, it reminded me that I experienced both of those things my senior year. Although the loss of my season was due to injury, my senior prom was canceled because of the racially charged riots of 1992, I had the perspective of a 17 year old kid then, but what I see now is that it was these hardships that helped point me in the direction of the people and things that I surround myself with everyday. The days I didn’t get to play taught me about how much I love my sport...and I still play today. And knowing that I survived not having a Senior Prom helped me keep Luke not having one in perspective...not to mention we got to enjoy a family Prom thanks to the creative and inviting nature of his girlfriend's family! We notice the absence of things that are important to us when they are taken away. Not every life experience is made to be part of our forever story, but the things that we learn about ourselves through events and experiences make us the continually growing people that we are. With this lens, there are no mistakes, only opportunities to grow and understand our why a little better with each experience. The only constant in life is change, but when we learn to manage it with consistent response, we can grow our faith, confidence, and courage to move through anything that comes our way.
Daily Action: Write a list of the 3 hardest challenges of your life. Think about how they stretched and grew you as a person. What positive attributes in yourself today can you credit for these challenges?
Daily Reframe: Don’t fear change or challenge. It is the part of life that helps us grow toward our real potential.
With Optimism,
Wendy
