To endure that which feels like hardship, that which knocks us either around or down for a time in life, is to not let the very hope go out of our live & thus leaving our sails down without hope of finding the wind. We possibly become more brow-beaten the older we get as more happens, so that many of us are actually somber, downcast, unrecognizable versions of who we once were. We start to wear our hard knocks like our clothes & thus, we become sad, tumultuous, angry, bitter, dour or imperiled versions of us! I took note when reading some of the Bible, how meaningful the stories of those whom endured were to me. I realized that many people in life only learned how to shape & form their character, growing to love God, themselves & others more from what happened to them during hardships & trials. Many of course did not learn at all, going instead to places of discord, unrest & their own version of solitary confinement – choosing to make that part of their story in fact the “whole story” of their life. Some just became worse for the wear surely. But many examples were evident throughout the Bible, as well as in our everyday lives of people who thrive in spite of what has happened. They’ve lived to become shining examples of grace under pressure, appearing to be diamonds who were formed in the worst of times! And there always will be “bad times” at times for us all, no one is immune from that aspect of life! So that is my hope in life for myself. I want to take my sufferings, my pains, my hard knocks & all those things could do me in & make it all instead the cloth which polishes my soul & spirit to perfection like a rare & priceless diamond!
Enduring life is not meant to strip us of our desire to live, but rather to form us into wiser, more compassionate & loving people better prepared to live! Learn to be at peace & contentment with life, to not make each battle one which embitters your spirit & to recognize in the moments you will have to swim upstream with great effort, that even in those moments you are being strengthened for the journey ahead! The saying goes: no diamond can truly be appreciated as first appears, it must endure a process which forms it from onset to what it will become in the end! And so must we . . but it is our choice as to how we shall endure what we must! It is always our choice to look beyond the process towards the end result!
Making lemonade from our lemons doesn’t mean we’re settling for less, it means we are making the best of whatever comes our way & that is how we make the best of our lives! We can choose to exist & to react . . ways to surely suck the living out of your life! In existing, you relinquish your desire to hope for yet-fulfilled & yet-achieved dreams. You simply stop living in a state of faith & hope t…o sustain that faith, & so your life becomes based in fear, worry, regrets, sorrows, “what ifs” & “why nots”. But when you take back the helm of your central internal emotional command, realizing that although you don’t control everything, you do control your responses, you will start to feel empowered & alive once again! 
As this year draws to a close, many find reason to happily close the doors upon this one, as it was simply not the type of year they had envisioned. Some things changed, things happened, pain ensued & their personal history became altered. But the truth of life is in the fact that it is ever-changing, ever-testing, ever-filled with those elements which try us & make us stalwart in who we are. We would never be much of anything were it not for the wisdom learned through our tests, the strength built through each battle & the compassion learned by being hurt. We aren’t here to live half-lives of just the pleasant & the rewarding, for they aren’t the moments which build much of any character in us. We can pray, hope & wish for only those types of moments, but reality will rear a head more authentic, & we will have to develop something within us that permits us to be more, to do better & to live happily regardless. My hope for each of us as we move on in life is to see the pathway illuminated less precisely but with more clarity by recognizing our own inability to control everything. We must see our very need to cede power but retain strength in all life events which are concurrently happening around us as well, our inherent desire to live faithfully & with a sense of contentment regardless the circumstances. It is possible to make 2013 a better year now sight unseen, just by changing your mindset & securing that outcome. It is truly up to you! Life won’t probably be all that less challenging, the world will be just as chaotic, but you will be standing firmly & resolutely on solid ground regardless. And that is the great truth of life . . the firmament you seek is within you!
Many will want to hurry into a new year, for they see it as a door closing on a bad time, leaving only possibility for a better time in the future. They are right! But they’re only right because they’ve made up their minds to see it that way. 2013 has no promises & no guarantees attached, it comes not with a disclaimer or a series of known days. It just opens in its newness, just like every other …year we’ve had. We can wonder what we’ll find, but we mustn’t presume to know. We might have planned some days ahead, but even those are really just wishes until they materialize & become a part of our history. We are blessed with so many gifts each day, we often times take our gifts for granted for the sheer numbers of them have just numbed us to seeing them day in & day out. We have our loved ones with us, our friends beside us, our co-workers who enable us to do our jobs, our furry friends, our activities that brighten each day, nature all around us blooming – changing & creating a canvas of beauty in the background into which we paint ourselves in the foreground. God has blessed us abundantly, & we owe it to Him, to ourselves & to others to recognize our gifts just for what they are. Be thankful you are approaching this new year of possibility & rest in the assurance that no matter what it brings, you can find your peace, contentment & joy in life for sure!
It’s just the start of a new year & you should try to make it count, making it worthwhile, making it the best one yet by putting your emotions in check, by choosing to live instead not by them, but by your own powerful & affirmative ability to sail & venture into life. You should be assured that you will weather storms yet to be projected even! You, after all, are the captain of your own ship, where will you sail this year? Will you remain docked in the same place, because you dare not venture out beyond your comfort zone? Will you sail out only to the break for that is the furthest you dare go for fear of what lies ahead? Or will you, master & commander of your own ship, sail beyond all the places you have dared to go before to face uncharted waters even?! 
cherylriesauthor 