Life moves forward
By: Ralph Marston
“The challenges show you how powerful and effective you can be when you must be. The positive possibilities give you satisfying and fulfilling ways to make use of your strength.
“The difficult times help you to more fully appreciate what you have. The good times help you to see how very much joy is possible.
“The disappointments bring you valuable, meaningful, and useful experience. The successes give you the confidence to reach even higher.
“Those who criticize you offer you priceless feedback and important new perspectives. Those who appreciate what you’ve done give you the encouragement to do even more.
“No matter which way the individual events may go, life moves forward. From each and every experience and outcome, there is something of value to be gained.
“Instead of worrying or judging or obsessing about what may or may not come, accept and appreciate what does come. Then, with a strong and thankful heart, make good and purposeful use of it all.”
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As I tried to write this message, I became distracted by all that is happening around me—the drought we are experiencing here in Texas, the wildfires that have destroyed thousands of acres and lives, and the flooding on the east coast, just to name a few. In an effort to shift my focus, I began searching the Internet and came across the motivational quote that opens this message. As we live our lives, we often forget that life moves forward. We become discouraged and want to give up when we face challenges, difficult times, and/or disappointments. We often fail to see any value in the “obstacles.” Good times, successes, and encouragements are what keep us going and help us continue on—they are the moments we want to cherish and remember.
Whether we are experiencing good or bad times, the reality is that life will continue to move forward—it doesn’t stop just because things are going good/bad for us today, although we often think it should. It is my hope that, whether you are experiencing a success or an “obstacle,” you are living, enjoying, and moving forward with life. Learn from the challenges of the past and focus on making tomorrow a better day!
In friendship ~ Kristy