One day

 Posted by William Forcier 

My mom did not sleep. She felt exhausted. She was irritable, grumpy, and bitter. She was always sick until one day, suddenly, she changed.

One day, my dad said to her:

-I've been looking for a job for three months and I haven't found anything. I'm going to have a few beers with friends.

My mom replied:

-It's okay.

My brother said to her:

-Mom, I'm doing poorly in all subjects at the University.

My mom replied:

-Okay, you will recover, and if you don't do well, you repeat the semester, but you pay the tuition.

My sister said to her:

-Mom, I smashed the car.

My mom replied:

-Okay daughter, take it to the car shop and find out how to pay and while they fix it, get around by bus or subway.

Her daughter-in-law said to her:

-Mother-in-law, I came to spend a few months with you.

My mom replied:

-Okay, settle in the living room couch and look for some blankets in the closet.

All of us gathered worried to see these reactions coming from Mom.

We suspected that she had gone to the doctor and that she was prescribed some pills called "I don't give a damn..." Perhaps she was overdosing on these!

We then proposed to do an "intervention" with my mother to remove her from any possible addiction she had to some anti-tantrum medication.

But then...she gathered us around her and my mom explained:

"It took me a long time to realize that each person is responsible for their life. It took me years to discover that my anguish, anxiety, depression, courage, insomnia and my stress, do not solve your problems but aggravate mine. I am not responsible for the actions of anyone and it's not my job to provide happiness but I am responsible for the reactions I express to that. Therefore I came to the conclusion that my duty to myself is to remain calm and let each one of you solve what corresponds to you.

I have taken courses in yoga, meditation, miracles, human neurolinguistic programming, and in all of them, I found a common denominator in them all...

I can only control myself, you have all the necessary resources to solve your own problems despite how hard they may be. My job is to pray for you, love on you, and encourage you but it's up to YOU to solve them and find your happiness.

I can only give you my advice if you ask me and it depends on you to follow it or not. There are consequences, good or bad, to your decisions and YOU have to live (with) them.

So from now on, I cease to be the receptacle of your guilt, the laundress of your remorse, the advocate of your faults, the wall of your lamentations, the depositary of your duties, who should solve your problems or spare a tire every time to fulfill your responsibilities.

From now on, I declare all independent and self-sufficient adults.

Everyone at my mom's house was speechless.

From that day on, the family began to function better because everyone in the house knew exactly what it was that they needed to do.

For some of us, this is hard because we've grown up being caregivers and feeling responsible for others. As moms and wives, we are fixers of all things. We never want our loved ones to go through difficult things or to struggle. We want everyone to be happy.

But, the sooner we take that responsibility off our shoulder and onto each loved one, the better we are preparing them to be responsible.

We are not here on earth to be everything to everyone. Stop putting that pressure on yourself.

10,000 reasons

From Randy Alcorn

How will you respond to suffering?

Will you curse God and walk away.

or will you bless God even in great pain,

and trust that He has a reason,

maybe 10,000 reasons, for your pain,

even if you cannot see any of them?

~Vaneetha Rendall Risner

Support

 Not all support

involves money.

Believing in someone

is priceless.

~Paulo Coelho

Still at work

God is still at work.

Even in the silence.

Even in the unknown.

~Lysa Terkeurst

Too much

You've seen God

do too much to 

give up.

You know too 

much about Him

to walk away 

now.

Sensitivity

Your sensitivity is your strength. The way

you feel and love, your vulnerability and

rawness - that is your power, your purpose.

~Marisa Donnelly

Storm will end

 For the person that needed to see

this today: your heart will heal, your tears

will dry, your season will change.

Rest tonight knowing the storm will end.

Accountable

From Bipolar Girl

One of the greatest red flags in a relationship is when

you gently hold someone accountable for their poor

behaviour and instead of offering you a sincere 

apology followed by a changed behaviour, they make

themselves the victim and start blaming you.

It is impossible to have a relationship with someone

like that without losing yourself, your perception of

reality, your dignity, your self-worth, and your self-

trust.

Better

Listen, I wish I could tell you it

gets better. But it doesn't get

better.

You get better.

(Side note: I would like to believe that sometimes it gets better)

Where you're going

The Lord can be with you

when things seem to be against you

because God is looking at where you're going,

not where you are.

~Tony Evans

Hugged

 Such a lovely thought...from Stardust Poetry

I think sometimes

we are hugged

by people in

our sleep that aren't there.

But their souls stop by

and leave us some strength.

My kindness

 I know that my

kindness hurts me,

but I will continue

to choose it,

not because I'm

naive, but because

my actions define me.

~Najwa Zebian

Immensely

 You must value your time and energy

immensely. Stop being the jumper cables to

people with the energy of a dead car

battery; they will literally drain you.

Waited

She waited

her entire life

to find somebody

she could sit with

in silence,

feeling wanted,

appreciated,

and adored,

and when

it finally happened,

she knew damn well,

why it was worth

the wait.

Love me

 I'll do a lot for a man I love...But I'll do even more for a man I know loves me

High value

 Posted by Nona

Accountability is high value. 

Integrity is high value. Moving with

intention is high value. Emotional

and spiritual intelligence are high

value.

A backwards world will have you

thinking money makes you high

value, but not if you're spiritually

bankrupt.

Nearer

 NEARER

If you want to get warm

you must stand

near the fire: if

you want to be

wet you must get

into the water.

If you want joy,

power, peace, eternal

life, you must get

close to, or even into,

the thing that 

has them.

~C.S. Lewis

The waiting

     HEALING TAKES TIME.

There is a reason the Lord waited 22 years

to reunite Joseph with his brothers.

THE LESSONS WERE FOUND

IN THE WAITING.

~TobyMac

Never happened

 I've had a lot of worries in

my life, most of which

never happened.

~Mark Twain

Blessed

 Life often gets the hardest when we're about to be blessed.   ~Edd Elick Poetry

Focus

The devil causes you to focus on what you don't have and what you can't do.

God will cause you to focus on what you do have and what you can do.

Your happiness

 Do not let your happiness

depend on something you may lose.

~C.S. Lewis

Find you

 In this world you can search

for everything, except love

and death.

They find you when the time

comes.

~Sergei Yesenin

Cannot build

You cannot build a relationship with someone who ignores

you, your phone calls, or your texts.

And you cannot build a relationship with someone who

won't talk about the future with you, or make plans with

you.

And you certainly cannot build a relationship with someone

who isn't willing to communicate and have the necessary

conversations.

But it is not your job to try to convince someone to be

different.

And it's not your job to convince someone of your value,

and of your worth.

Your only job is to be a protector of your heart, and of your

boundaries.

And you need to challenge yourself to be that protector.

And the first step in loving yourself is the boundary of 

goodbye.

And you will be fine!

There will be someone else, and yes...you can handle the

loneliness of going back out there again.

Anything is better than betraying yourself to be in 

something that is going nowhere.

~Simang Lang Malakas

Abandon

 People don't

abandon people they love.

People abandon 

people they were using.

Generosity

GENEROSITY

has everything to do

with your mindset,

not your net worth.

~John C. Maxwell

Already tough

I'll never forget who made

things harder when life was

already tough for me.

Truly are

It was then I realized

it was never about you.

It was me.

I needed to forgive myself.

Not because you were without blame

but because I was a fool

for seeing you as something other

that what you truly are.

~Morgan Richard Olivier

Cherish

 From Grief Bites

I love this beautiful quote by Joni Eareckson Tada. Whatever we are facing...our trials only win IF we fail to cherish Christ through them! Spend some time with God this week and cherish Him...especially through life's storms. As you read this, replace the word "cancer" with whatever you are going through. Then, like the example below Joni's quote, turn it into a heartfelt prayer. God loves you so much!!

"Cancer wouldn't win if I died. Cancer would only win if I failed to cherish Jesus Christ. When people see us smile in the midst of trials, they will look at us and think,'Her God must be pretty great to inspire that kind of loyalty. I think that's amazing that she can smile in the midst of her affliction. I want what she has. I need her joy.' Oh what a rich testimony that is."  ~Joni Eareckson Tada

PRAYER:

Dear most gracious Heavenly Father,

What I am going through today is so heartbreaking and difficult. At times, it feels like I'm dead and can't die. But YOU died for me...to have a deep friendship with me...if I was the only human being on earth, You would have died for me...I am so precious to You. You are so very precious to me too, Lord. You are my treasure!

Lord, help me and teach me to cherish You. Help me to smile and find joy - even in the midst of my grief and trials I walk through. Thank you so much that I am never alone. Thank you for the incredible promise that you will NEVER leave or forsake me...I am 100% guaranteed to never be alone my entire life. Please turn my trial into a triumph...my heartache into joy...my sadness into dancing. With You, ALL things are possible!! Thank You in advance for turning my grief, heartache, and test into a strong testimony for You...may it draw many to Your beautiful heart! In Jesus' Name, Amen!!

Work out

Sometimes things that didn't work out for you,

actually worked out for you.

Can't control

People will start hating you when they can't control you.

Remember that.

~The Old Words

The scream

Never bite back the scream

to soothe the ears

of the people who made you yell.

~Gingerpixie