Do you ever just look back at certain instances and situations that you were in and just laugh? I can definitely say I’ve been doing that a lot lately. You could call that, the ability to laugh at my past, growth. Growth meaning a different mindset, a renewed thinking, not reacting as you used to certain situations and people. Growth. I feel, we as people, during all the ups and downs of a trial, situation, and just life itself are blind to the changes that are being made to us externally and internally in those very moments.

It took me reminiscing about a period of my life where I saw nothing but darkness and despair around and in front of me and thinking I had no way out to realize I’m not where I thought my path was going to be stuck at, and my mindset isn’t the same as it once was in that particular moment. That’s not to say I couldn’t have gone down another route and been worse off than I was at that time. I think in the midst of all the hell and calamity we may be in or going through, we don’t ever think about what the situation is trying to teach us, maybe what God is trying to teach and reveal to us. I’m not saying it’s as easy as the flip of a switch or an instant shift and then boom, your thought process, and perception are changed – not at all. But you can center yourself into this mindset when situations arise. I feel a lot of the times for me, maybe you too, when we hit issues or situations in life, we think, “Oh no, God might be mad at me,” or, “Maybe my life has been too perfect as of late.” And as a result, we believe He needs to humble us. I feel that’s just our flesh trying to rationalize the situation and what’s going on around it. We can’t even truly fathom why we’re going through something – only that we’re going through it presently. A word I’ve heard a lot lately is, “Godly Thinking”. It’s the type of thinking we can’t even comprehend because God doesn’t just let things happen just to happen – there’s always a reason or greater purpose. Maybe He’s trying to draw us closer to him, strengthen our faith, or prepare us to help someone else in a similar situation in the near future. Just know he’s trying to teach us.

What I’ve learned lately is that you are always a choice away from a better or worse future. God may be the conductor of the train of life, but you’re still the passenger who chooses which platform you’re going to step on and where it goes. Everything in life isn’t meant to break you, but rather, build you up. It can make you better or worse, bitter or better. Ultimately the choice is yours. If I could leave you with any words of motivation, it would be, “This too shall pass.”