Keep your face always toward the sunshine

by Michele Boy | October 3, 2024

It’s October and the temperatures are fluctuating from 70s to 90s. 
  Life is speeding by! And I have ten minutes left to get this paper to press.
 My daily bible verse said, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
Proverbs 4:23.
 I noticed the other day when I didn’t sleep much through the night and coffee wasn’t helping the next morning, irritation after irritation started mounting. Old hurts from the past came up and it felt as if the world was darkening before my eyes. 
  Recent celebrity deaths added to that. Why? I didn’t know these people personally. 
But it added onto an already stressful time. 
 Then a few friends were hurting about more serious things. My heart became heavy. 
I looked at the calendar and saw Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, begins tonight, October 2.
 I learned that Rosh means head. It is the head of the year. 
 Then I saw a video that each day we should begin with writing ten things we are grateful for. 
I know I am a night owl because I try to do this at the end of the day. ha. 
But how we start our day, our year, all adds up.
  I was awake in the night again and I started praying for people. 
  With so much going on in our lives, it is easy to look over one another. It is easy to take offense when someone says something off the cuff that hurts. 
 So much in today’s society is about not offending others, adding trigger warnings, etc. 
 But what if our job is to center ourselves with God and let go of the outside world ?
What if all these frustrations and irritations are meant to distract us from the bigger picture? 
  It can be hard to center myself when I didn’t sleep well, my child a little tired and cranky, and something ticks me off. 
 But it is easier to walk through life when I am at peace within. 
 I let go easier. My judgment is clearer, and I can make better decisions without being irritated and offended.
  No one is perfect. Everyone falls short. Where are you in your walk? 
When there are hard times coming your way how do you handle it?
  I personally tend to get angry, need to vent to a friend, maybe workout, eat some chocolate, and take a nap.
I was out of town and had a nail appointment at a new place. 
The nail technician shared a tremendous amount about herself and then began what felt like an interrogation into my personal life. 
  Throughout the appointment, I sat quietly smiling. Inside I prayed for her and thought about what I should say.
 Ultimately I decided silence was best. For those who may not believe in God, there was a miracle. LOL.
  Later, I replayed the afternoon and found it was uncomfortable but I think I handled it well.  
 What was supposed to be relaxing and a treat to myself didn’t work out that way. 
  My thoughts and attitudes shape my health, my day, my life. 
How is your mind? 
How do you handle pieces of life that are out of your control? 
 I don’t do it well but I am doing it better than I used to. 
  We can get so busy we forget to check in with ourselves. 
 So I am stopping for just a moment to say  I hope you get a chance to look up at the sun today and say thank you. 
  And if it is possible, encourage someone today. We never know the battle someone else is fighting. 
  As Walt Whitman said,  “Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and shadows will fall behind you.”