Food For Thought

I've gotten some emails lately that friends have forwarded me. I thought I'd share some of the good ones with you that impacted me.

*Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
I do this all the time, and need to learn not to. I tend to compare all the bad in my life to all the good in other's lives, which is an unfair comparison. I love that it says, "you have no idea what their journey is all about." How true that is!

*If a realtionship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
Where was this little tidbit of advice when I needed it? I think this can be true of a lot of things in our lives. If we have to hide things, then we shouldn't be doing them or be invovled in them.

*Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
It took me a while to learn this lesson, but I eventually learned it and it's brought so much peace and happiness to my life to let go of the past and move on!

*What other people think of you is none of your business.
This one hit me in the face like a splash of ice cold water. I am a "people pleaser" and always want people to like me and think well of me. There was one guy I worked with in college that somehow always got under my skin and would make me furious. But, I came to realize that I didn't need to worry about what he thought about me as long as I was living the best way I could. Life is too short to worry about what other people think of me.

*However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
This one little line has completely changed my perception on a lot of things. It reminds me to always appreciate the good things in life, b/c they are not always going to last. It reminds me to make the most of each moment and to cherish all the wonderful things I have. But, it also reminds me that when I'm struggling or having a hard time, that it won't be that way forever and that I will be strong enough to make it through the storm and back into the sunlight.

*If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
I have been incredibly blessed in my life and need to remember to always give thanks to Heavenly Father for everything He's given me and done for me. This is also a great reminder to always be kind to those around us or people we meet, b/c we have no idea what trials they are dealing with in their lives. Kindness is ALWAYS needed and appreciated.

Old Barns And Old People

A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking.He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway.
I told him right off he was crazy..He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, His hands, and the way he talked.
He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn Sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale. I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.

Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there'sBeen a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind.The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint'sGone, and the wood has turned silver gray. Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired.Yet, that fellow called it beautiful..

That set me to thinking. I walked out to the field and just stood there,Gazing at that old barn.. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the wallsOf his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful.Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms andScorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.

It came to me then.. We're a lot like that, you and I.Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us. Sure we turn silver gray too.... And lean a bit more than We did when we were young and full of sap. But the Good Lord knows what He's doing.And as the years pass He's busy using the hard weather of our lives, The dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifying Our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!

They took the old barn down today and hauled it away To beautify a rich man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled offTo Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord Has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.

And I suspect we'll be more beautifulThen for the seasons we've been through here... And just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.
May there be peace within you today.May you trust God that you are Exactly where you are meant to be.