Chances

You get one chance. 

No more and no less. 

So why do we live life like we are just warming up? Why do we so often speak in future tense? Why do we rely on tomorrow, next month, and next year? 

We have right now, and that’s all we can be sure of. I know it may sound morbid, but life is essentially a countdown and time is running out. I’m not going to let all that I have right now slip out of my grasp because I was looking too far forward and never down at what was right in front of me. 

I want to live my life well, and I want to fully love every minute of it. I want to realize what I have in front of me before it is gone. If this is all temporary, I want to be aware of each moment. 

I want to say thank you and mean it. Thank you for the stars that remind me of how small I am. Thank you for the beautiful days- and the rainy days  too. I’ve learned some of the best lessons come when the skies are grey. Sometimes you learn to find light even when it’s not easy to come by. Thank you for the dreamers who always want more. Thank you for the chance to be messy, and learning what it looks like to put things in order again. Thank you for the handwritten letters reminding me to shine even when it isn’t the easy thing to do. Thank you for staying. Thank you for believing. And above all, thank you for this. Maybe this moment right in front of me is the one that could make a difference- whether it’s now or somewhere down the road. I won’t waste it any longer.

  

Constant

I think everyone here is just searching for something. We are all trying to find something that will last.

Some of us have found it. We have seen unconditional love, and once we have experienced that, we long for everyone around us to rest in it too. 

Life is not that easy though. To the ones who have never seen anything in life remain the same, the idea of an unconditional, relentless love might as well be foreign. 

I think that’s the disconnect. While some of us are speaking fluently in the rhythms of grace and running to the arms of love, the idea of steadfast love is a foreign language to others. 

I don’t fully understand how to change that. I wish I had the answers, but I don’t. I’m lost and confused, but I do know this: actions will always speak louder than words. 

My friends will not understand unconditional love because of something I write. It won’t make sense because of the words I say. 

The searching ones will find unconditional love through the way we act. Consistency must be demonstrated for our love to stand out. Let us love loudly. Let us love in such a way that the people around us are confused by the depths of our love. Let our love be the flame that sparks the hard conversations and brings a new light to all the ways that we should show up for one another. 

A lot of people won’t understand it. Love them anyways, but never give them authority over you. Be the one that listens, but don’t believe the lies that are thrown at you. Don’t let them stick to you and weigh you down. The lies originate from hurt that can only be healed with love. 

We are called to love the toxic people, but that doesn’t mean that we give them any power to define us. 

Find the people who encourage you consistently and strive to love others well. Surround yourself with them. They will make you strong, and that will make a world of difference.