By Angela Williams Glenn
The other day I sat with the ocean breeze on my face, the sun burning down on my skin, and the silliest grin on my face as I watched my girls jump in the ocean and my husband play in the sand with our toddler son. Just like any other time I’ve sat in those moments of watching my beautiful, happy family enjoying time together I thought how I wouldn’t change any of it, even the tough moments. All of those struggles were to arrive at these moments.
These moments don’t just happen on some beach either. They happen at the dinner table as everyone is erupting into laughter. They happen as we all find ourselves in the yard gathering fall leaves or challenging each other to a game of hoops on the driveway court. They happen as we give our whole weekend over to cheering on the sidelines as one of them challenges themselves on the playing field. They happen in the holiday or weekend moments where we get together with others we love but don’t see as much. They’re these amazing little moments that happen over and over that remind me this is a beautiful, amazing life – worth living every day, even in the messy moments.
Some days I feel like I’m lost out in that ocean, drowning in the struggles and expectations that weigh me down. But moments like this are my lifeline back to the shore to remind me that my life isn’t just an unpredictable rip current. It’s also this breathtaking view that gives my soul peace and reassurance to keep pushing through the tough moments that feel like they’ll drown me.
Some days I feel like I’m lost out in that ocean, drowning in the struggles and expectations that weigh me down. But moments like this are my lifeline back to the shore…
I let myself too easily get caught up in all that doesn’t go right or according to plan and occasionally I’m guilty of thinking about what we don’t have instead of what we do have. So much in life is about perspective, and when things aren’t going as I expected, it’s so easy to find myself going down a slippery slope of negativity. If I throw in the media’s obsession of focusing on the negative over the positive, or society’s pressure that no matter what we have or what we do it’s not enough, I can so easily drown in disappointment and misery. I could so easily be convinced to throw myself out into that ocean of uncertainty and hope it carries away the hardships and struggles of life.
