Anne- February 2008

  Here I am, right before my birthday in 2008. I will be 53 in a few days. It seems so odd to be old enough to join my parent's senior group. I don't feel like a senior. But I suppose that's what I am, and that is not such a bad thing. I can now say that I am old and wise, and that my life experience has given me some little bit of insight. At least I've made a lot of mistakes that I won't repeat. I try to warn younger people who are about to do the same thing. Sometimes they even listen, but usually they have to learn the hard way. Maybe that's a good thing-it seems to build character.

Hardship can, if we let it, make us more forgiving and less judgmental. It can give us patience and endurance. It can also make us more imaginative in our attempts to alleviate the situation. We obviously can't continue doing the same thing we have been. We'll just dig ourselves deeper into the hole we've dug. We have to learn to change our behavior. If we also listen to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit, it can help us learn to abandon our frustration, fear, and worry to God. With all those bad feelings about things we can't change given to the One who loves us, we can, in freedom, carry on with hope and in peace. This is true of most every rotten thing that can happen to us, not just the stupid mistakes we make, but the things that just happen- illness, job loss, financial trouble, the barking dog next door...Big or small, all the things that make us miserable can be made at least emotionally neutral if we change our thoughts about them. We always have a choice in a bad situation. We can make all the positive changes we can, and even if we can't make a change, we can decide to live in peace. And in doing so, provide inspiration to others who are wrestling with their own demons.