Power in the way you choose to look at things.

*Warning:  if all you get out of this post is feeling sorry for me, then you missed the point entirely.  What is shared is purely to show the power you have in how you choose to look at life.*

In the last three years, God has been working hard in and with me to help me be able to see things differently, closer to the way that He sees them.  To be more fully aware of the blessings among the hards.  Today, I put on my status update that I am blessed beyond anything that I could imagine...because I AM!  But from the world's point of view...I look as if I have nothing. 

~I am a single mom... but the girls and I have never been happier, felt safer, or lived a more full life then what we are doing right now.  I don't see myself as the label of single mom.  I am just me and we are actively enjoying the life we have.
~I don't have a boyfriend... but I am surrounded by some absolutely amazing friends that I wouldn't want to do life without, who make me a better person and lift me up constantly in prayer.  And I have a relationship with God like I didn't even know existed!
~there is no money in either of my accounts right now... but all of my bills are paid for the month, and God has promised repeatedly that He is still in charge and still has it all covered.
~I don't have a real job... but I am a stay at home mom (and college student) who absolutely loves the time that she gets to spend with her girls every day...and that they do not have to be in daycare or whatever all summer.  This is the best job in the entire world and I wouldn't trade it for a thing!
~I spend hours taking pictures that I don't get paid for... but my team is the most appreciative group of guys ever and the rewards are amazing.  Sure, there is no money in it...but again, I wouldn't trade this for anything.  I have gotten to travel more this summer than ever, and the gratitude from the guys for the pictures and support never ceases to amaze me.  And I am getting a lot of experience in so many different aspects through this.  It truly is a pleasure.  Every single time one of my pictures is used as a profile pic, or cover pic, or sent off as part of a ref's profile, or shared in a blog post, or liked, it more than makes it all worth it.  And its free advertising!
~I don't even have my own car in my driveway... This one has been the most surprising blessing to me.  One of the hardest things for me over the last three years was when there was no money for gas or toilet paper.  Because my car is loaned out to a friend (who needs to be able to get to work), I don't have any of the worries/anxiety that I otherwise would have been feeling over the fact that I couldn't afford to put gas in it.  It has been a really good thing to be without a car right now!  Truly!

Okay, to reiterate the whole point of this blog post today.  So much of life is how we choose to look at our circumstances.  If we make the choice to whine (and yes, that is a CHOICE) about how bad off we are, we tend to push people away and miss out on the potential blessings that God has among the hard times for us.  And then, when things get even harder, because life is like that, we won't have the smaller hard successes to pull from and it might make things appear even harder.  All along the way, God is right there, giving us the grace and strength we need to make it through anything and everything that comes our way.  When we succeed at making it through the smaller hard times, we truly are building a foundation that will keep us from crumbling when the harder hards come along.  And you want to know what makes this even more exciting to me?  When we have built this foundation in the hard times, and we choose to count our blessings and see the positive among the hard...then our eyes are more open to see the big blessings in the good times.  Instead of missing them, or only partly enjoying them.  The more I am focused on God in the times that are challenging, the more I am aware of all that He is doing in and around me.  The more I enjoy this life that He has blessed me with.  And my blessings are beyond numbers!  There is no way to share them all.  And I still miss some.  Even watching carefully, I still miss some of what He is doing!  But I can truly rest assured that no matter what happens, He has already prepared me to be able to handle it AND He is right there walking me through it all.  No, my life doesn't look like much to the world, but it is my life, and God handwrote the details just for me...knowing that I would find myself absolutely flourishing, and thankful for all He has done, is doing, and will do in the future.
You hold so much power in your hands...