There is a time for everything....

I was just thinking today about how many things I thought were a struggle or a crisis at the moment really weren't at all!  That is the thing about hindsight and how great it would be to have that ahead of time.  The one thing that I know is that life doesn't come without a little bit of struggle, sadness, grief and etc.

Maybe that is where my outlook on life comes in and I believe everything will get better no matter how bad anything you go through in life can be.  It's that "Don't Stop Believing" attitude of mine which is a good thing and a bad thing all wrapped up!  I set a bar for myself and it tends to be a little high some times...

I have dealt with a lot in my 46 years and as much as I would like to say that I didn't want to go through anything, it's a part of my life experiences and has molded me for who I am and how I think. And it has made me stronger than I would like to make myself out to be but has made me be a little cynical too!

That is what is odd about grief.  You don't have to lose a person to death to experience the typical grief emotion.  It can be the loss of a friendship, relationship, marriage, job, your childhood, your idea of how life should be and etc. And as much as we hate to deal with emotions and such, you have to deal with it, in your own way.  

I lost a friend of mine 29 years ago this week and I was young and devastated at the time.  I had lost only a great grandparent or two at that time in my life and so I didn't know how hard it would be for me to deal with.  And as cruel as life can be, I lost a classmate later that year.  Experiencing that grief earlier in the year helped but then another death happens and you get that ripped open feeling again.

I see now that time did heal that wound and what you once thought was unbearable becomes bearable.  And me being the odd duck that I am (lol) deal with things in my own way just like so many others do.  

We can protect our hearts as much as we possible can (build walls and such) but there is a time when you are alone with your thoughts and you just "see" things.  You get that clarity and realize that you have to deal with stuff.  You will come out of it a better person.  And that is why I love this:

A Time for Everything

 For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
 A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
 A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
 A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8