Facing Life As It Is

-Painkiller Addiction
-Isolationist behaviors
-Drunken or High Times that leave memories fuzzy at best 

There could be a very, very long list of things that people choose to escape reality. And reality is painfully harsh at times, I mean deadly harsh.

But what then? 

How do we go along, trying to live an authentic, loving, light-shining kind of life, among the truly "yuck" moments? Among the violent, blaming, hateful moments. It can make you feel like you are fracturing from the inside. SO many thoughts, SO many emotions, SO many desperate needs.

-Evenings looking at the stars & Moments to marvel at the rain
-Fervent prayer & Worshiping in "spirit and truth"
-Family & Friends and more "focused" relationships  

There could also be a very, very long list of things that people can choose to do to embrace reality. The story is not all bad, there is a theme of birth and newness.....but there is also a theme of death and decay.

And that my friends is what we are called to live in. A world with both themes, written alongside each other. And it's a book that should be a best-seller. This novel of life. It's sharp, and gritty, and kind, and funny, and exhausting!

Each of us is responsible for our part of the book. And in the span of all time, know this, that it will be brief. You won't get much time to share your essence. So, you better make what you have count! It could be easier to escape; not care, not reach out, not research. But we are better than that. At our core, we are better than mindless living, horribly risky choices, and being so busy we can't see straight. At our core, we still want to care, help others and attend to their needs, and enjoy the breathtaking moments.

Here we are in July, and it has been a summer filled with pain. Pain, upon pain upon pain. Facing life as it is, calls us to recognize our part, and be present and thoughtful. I know that I have some influence, it is small but it is something. And the change that needs to happen in my part of the world, it starts right here with me. Me, facing life as it is, owning my bias and mistakes, and owning that I am still here, blessed to get a chance to own my triumphs and accomplishments. Facing life as it is. Sometimes, we close our eyes because the hurt is deep and real, BUT we must reopen them always. We can't turn aside from the hurt of another. We must bravely face life as it is....together.