Three Stories

I am blessed with great friends.  Over the years of friendship there are three stories shared by friends that have become a foundation on which I’ve built my life.  I’m sharing three stories from two friends.  There are many more, these three however, are particularly giving me strength now.

The first comes from a friend I’ve know since our first day of college.  We are both from Georgia and it was Southerners against the Yankees.  Years after graduating, she was leaving the consignment shop I owned, before walking out the door, she turned and said, “You don’t know what will happen, it might be something good.” 

When the future looks difficult and doubts crowd out the light, I go back to that moment and remind myself, “I don’t know what will happen today or tomorrow, it might be something good.”

The second story comes from a friend I met shortly after the birth of her forth child.  During elementary school, a classmate’s mother brought cookies.  The mom asked my friend if she wanted one and my friend replied, “I don’t know.”  The mom responded, “If you don’t know, then who does.”

My toughest mental work is deciding what I want.  I’m the only person that can make those choices.  It’s much easier to know what I don’t want, it’s so much harder to walk through all those “don’t wants” to whittle down to what I Do want.  I want to make the most of this experience.  I want to emerge more like Jesus.

The third, from the same friend, happen while pregnant.  She was reminded by the Holy Spirit that “pregnancy wasn’t an excuse to behave badly.”  This one is constantly on my mind.  Cancer isn’t an excuse to take my frustrations out on others. My husband and the medical personnel are doing all they can to help.  My job is to cooperate and be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

I’m guided by, “Something good might happen, know what I want and be my best self even when it’s difficult.”