Sometimes I find myself feeling guilty when sharing about good fortune, a chance in a lifetime trip, and enjoying the fruits of our labor. I’m apologetic or downplay the excitement in my voice in a conversation. There is a slight deflection in my tone as if I were apologizing for spilling milk on the floor. Mind you, I’m not running around shouting it from the trees, but why the heck can ‘t I? Why can’t you?
I remind myself that at one point in my life I was in the depths of Hell. There was no light or good fortune, but darkness and despair and addiction. God isn’t one of guilt but of celebration. I am thankful for every chance I get to experience another day here on Earth. Aren’t you?! Think about the trials and tribulations you have gone through. Look around and do you see the beauty in another day? Celebrate good fortune coming your way and the gifts from which you receive. If you are still deep in your trial, remember, it is merely a moment in time and it shall pass. It can be hard when you are in the deep end of the ocean fighting against wave after wave. I feel you. Life is a series of twists and turns – some are devasting, gut-wrenching, soul-depleting tornadoes. For other people, they seem to skate through life with a few small trips to the ground but nothing more than a scrape to the knee. Either way, we journey and we survive. We journey and we survive.
So today I celebrate life. It is good to be alive. I am blessed to feel the rain on my face and feel the depths of love through my children’s hugs. I enjoy sitting in my freshly painted home and taking in the fumes. I see my hanging baskets outside filled with vibrant colors of flowers and bask in their beauty. Today I got to walk two 8-year-olds to school and laughed at their silly conversations as I walked behind and I took a mental snapshot so I never forget the moment. I got to experience an incredible sunrise in Hawai’i recently and I am not sorry to share it. How majestic is His name!
In the same breath, later that day, I will remember the beautiful girl with the long blonde hair in the parking lot across from the sparkling blue water and sandy beach. She was strung out, sitting on a curb and smoking her cigarette. She was staring at two dogs playfully wrestling in front of her totally oblivious to her catatonic state. This woman was deep in her Hell, in paradise, and life was swirling around her as she was frozen in time. I felt her pain, prayed a prayer for her and carried an image of her in my head for the rest of the trip. I still see, God. I do. All the more reason to keep sharing your story. Our story. Hope is real and it is fuel for others. Hang on, people. Just hang on for those in the struggle.
Second chances, big and small, are such a gift. Celebrate your life unapologetically if you are in a season of fruitfulness.
Share your good fortune (not just monetary) because, in essence, you are sharing God’s goodness.
Danielle Leonard 