We still have HOPE!

Does anyone else find themselves just a little down today at the state of our world? At the state of the strife and discord? At the state of hate and hopelessness? At the state of all the sickness? At the state of all the marriages breaking up? At the state of how kids are treating their parents? At the state of what parents are allowing their kids to do and act? At the state of the violence? At the state of the lack of disrespect? At the state of no love? At the state of jealously and gossip and lies? I don’t think I need to go on, but I’m just going to be honest, I’m feeling it today.

This year has been unlike any other in my lifetime. My emotions have been all over the place. Everywhere from despair to hope. From loss to gain. From joy to sorrow. From fear to excitement, and everywhere in between. Please stop this emotional roller coaster and let me off!

I found myself there yesterday as well. As I got up and did my morning routine of gratitude, devotions, and prayer this thought came to me. I shared it on Facebook in hopes that somebody else needed a little encouragement in their day. It bears repeating today. Today, no matter where you find yourself, I hope you choose faith over fear, love over hate, hope over hopelessness and joy over sorrow! Today I hope you are anxious over no thing! There is a plan! There are still things to be hopeful about! Let’s choose to see the good in others, choose love, and be God’s light in the darkness! Good wins out over evil! Keep doing good!! Keep loving!

If you find yourself with similar feelings today, let me tell you that I believe there is still hope despite the darkness all around us. I believe God is still in control and has a plan. I still believe he is protecting us and is with us every day. I’m not preaching my beliefs on anybody today, but I’m going to tell you that without God being with me each, and every day, I’m not sure I would have made it though my life, and through some very dark days. That’s how I know he’s got us now too! No matter how bleak my situations have ever seemed, I have survived every single day thus far in my 46 years here on earth! Have I questioned things? Absolutely! Have I wondered if there was even a God after seeing so much bad? Absolutely! Have I questioned is there really any good? Absolutely! I will never truly understand everything, but today I choose to believe in hope and I choose joy!

I must question what have I learned in this crazy year that has taught me so much. I have learned I needed to be healthier! I have learned my relationship with my husband comes before any other relationship except God. I have learned that it’s possible to grow, and learn, and be very different coming through a storm. I have learned I must live a much simpler life with less things. I have learned I need to start every day with gratitude and reading the Bible to have the right mindset. I have learned we are not promised tomorrow so we better live right today. So maybe all of this darkness has come to remind us of what truly matters in life. Maybe we were given another chance to do right in the world. Maybe we were given another chance to search our heart and find what truly matters!

So today, I am choosing to open my eyes to the good. Today I am choosing joy! Today I am choosing hope! Today I am choosing love! Yes life can be so incredibly hard, but I’m choosing to not let that dictate how I show up every day. We will get through this! There will always be bad people! There will always be sickness and things we don’t understand, but if we look hard enough, there’s still some really good things, and some really good people. We all still have a work to do! What will you choose to do? How will you choose to view the state of the world? How will you choose to show up differently? I feel changed in words I can’t describe. I hope you have allowed yourself to be changed for the better too!

With love for you all,

Shauna