BEING PREPARED FOR LIFE'S MOMENTS IN TIME-SUNDAY SENTIMENTS 08/08

"One Moment In Time" is what Whitney Houston sings about with her phenomenally powerful voice in 1987. That song spoke to my heart then and has actually played a role in my life at various "moments in time".

Reminiscing about all of those moments in time, Whitney was right when she belted out "I Rise and Fall", "I broke my heart for every gain" and "To taste the sweet, I've faced the pain". That's been the story of my life in a nutshell. I've experienced many wonderful successes and an equal, if not surpassing amount of failures. I've risen and I've fallen and figured out that this is my Life, and I'm becoming more grateful for it every day.

Michael Jordan said it best, "I've failed over and over and over again in my life... and that is why I succeed".

I've come to believe that it's not so much the actual failures that contribute to our successes, as it is the ability to pick yourself up after a fall. To reinvent yourself and start over, yet once again. When it would be easy to dwell on the circumstance of the moment and have yourself a pity party, to know that doing so will accomplish nothing.

The "rise and fall" experiences of my life are almost comical, if you were to write them down and almost unbelievable that one person could experience so many various "life issues". I've come to realize that apparently God has a serious plan that I'm not yet aware of. I'm becoming more comfortable with the knowledge that I was allowed to experience each of those falls from Grace, so that He could bring me back to rise again. The purpose for that? Because there are so many people that think they are "stuck" in those situations. Having experienced them gives me a great ability just to say "I know" and to mean it.

The flip side of that...someone else might look at my life and see "me" as a total wreck! Always some kind of "drama" or issue that I'm being faced with. I'm reminded of what Jesus said to The Apostles during the Last Supper: "In this world you WILL have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world" ~John 16:33 (emphasis mine) True Christians who are making a difference in lives are the greatest opposition to the worlds ways and views.

I've found the best defense IS offense. I'm prepared and ready for it now. Nothing that comes my way in this life - no situation, no unjustified wrongdoing,etc. can get a rise out of me. This quote sums it up:

"You can avoid having ulcers by adapting to the situation: If you fall in a mud puddle, check your pockets for fish." ~Author Unknown

Let's just say that I'm constantly checking my pockets for fish. Actually, I've decided to choose outfits that don't even have pockets! *grin*

So, what about you? Are you at a place where you've passed through the doors of the life lessons class and become grateful or are you currently in the midst of the game?