I can see You everywhere ...

This year or maybe I should say these past two years have been difficult, heart breaking, overwhelming, etc. Yet, when I look back I see so much beauty, so many things to be thankful for in the midst of all the chaos. Its difficult to be thankful all the time, its hard to smile everyday, especially when it seems like we can never catch a break, but I have to hold on to hope ...

In my most difficult moments it seems that God always finds a way to let me know that its going to be ok, somehow, someway, it will all be ok. This time my encouragement and inspiration has come through a book, a book I picked up by "chance" at the library because it looked interesting ... it was not in the inspirational/spiritual section. In fact, its listed as a novel and in the fiction section. Someone obviously knew I needed to read this and so because I have been inspired, I decided to share this inspiration with you ...

"Whatever happens in your life, no matter how troubling things might seem, do not enter the neighborhood of despair. Even when all doors remain closed, God will open up a new path only for you. Be thankful!"

"How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we."

"One thing that has helped me personally in the past was to stop interfering with the people around me and getting frusturated when I couldn't change them. Instead of intrusion or passivity, may I suggest submission? Some people make the mistake of confusing "submission" with "weakness," whereas it is anything but. Submission is a form of peaceful acceptance of the terms of the universe, including the things we are currently unable to change or comprehend."

"Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of the process. What does patience mean? It means to look at the thorn and see the rose, to look at the night and see the dawn. Impatience means to be shortsighted as to not be able to see the outcome. The lovers of God never run out of patience, for they know that time is needed for the cresecnt moon to become full."

I leave you with this for now as I could go on and on, but I hope you will be inspired today to believe that it is always darkest before the dawn and that lifes greatest beauty comes through hardship and pain.

"I can see You everywhere, all around me, in the air,You surround my heart with songs of rare belief ..." Rita Springer


*All quotes are from the book, "The Forty Rules of Love," by Elif Shafak