 Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko “Lord, keep me in the moment. Help me live with my eyes wide open. `Cause I don't wanna miss what you have for me. ~ Jeremy Camp I found myself crying in Mcdonald's last week. It was supposed be just like any other coffee run. I had my code in hand. I was ready to get my points and about to get on the road for a fun weekend getaway with my husband. As I approached the counter, everything changed, however. You see the "customers" right in front of me couldn't help but get my undivided attention. There they were, the most adorable brother and sister duo, proudly placing their order for "2 waters." Their beautiful mom was beaming, watching them closely, and protectively from the side. They had their meal but wanted to order something on their own. Instantly I was swept back in time and there Tyler, age 7, and Shannon, age 5, stood in front of me. They even resembled them. It was uncanny. A wave of nostalgia and sadness engulfed me. The tears unexpectedly flowed behind my dark sunglasses. I had a moment that my mom often described as an "I miss my little people" moment. Have you ever experienced this? I am sure I am not alone. My kids are adults now. They are 28 and 26. Despite my mistakes along the way, they are two of the best humans out there. I am so blessed to have them in my life. Even so, there are just those moments that come up from time to time that get me right in the heart. I miss their little voices, their chubby, little hands in mine and their bedtime giggles and cuddles. Can you relate?  When Ty and Shannon were a baby and toddler, I wrote a poem which was entitled “Someday.” It was my first publication, and I was so proud. In this raw and honest poem, I talked of all the things that annoyed me at this stage like wishing I could: get a solid night’s sleep, shower without an audience, and watch Oprah instead of Barney. I realized too however, that there was so much I would also miss about that stage as well though like: infectious baby giggles, seeing the world through a child’s eyes and bedtime prayers for Goliath and the Teletubbies. I never wanted to wish this stage away, as hard as it might have been at the time. Everyone tells you to appreciate it all and since I became a mom, I know it is so true. Kids grow up way too fast! I felt like I blinked, and now my kids are adults.  Photo by Cup of Couple There can be many tough times and circumstances that come into our lives at so many stages. Life can be just plain hard sometimes. We struggle. We wish that our circumstances would change overnight. We don't know how much more we can take at times. During the tough times I have prayed that God would step in and change my circumstances time and time again, but that is not guaranteed. I have felt like I was in the waiting room and wondering like Rapunzel from the movie Tangled, when will my life begin? Many of us struggle to "stay in the moment" because we don’t like where we are right now. Many of us are facing big struggles, challenges and heartaches. We become overwhelmed and so weary of it all. If we have an attitude of what can be learned from our current circumstances whatever they may be, we can usually see that there have been some positives that have come from these times. When you stay in the moment with your heart open, you can see them. You Got This Photo by Prateek Katyal I have been teaching for 20 years. Retirement is fast approaching. It is so easy to look ahead and wish the time away. It is a challenging career and has changed so much recently. The needs of kids are so much more complex these days and the job of a teacher is truly not what it used to be. Rather than fantasize about leaving the profession on my worst days, I am working on reframing my thoughts to focus on the here and now. Who can I encourage right now? What good can I do each day? There is still work for me to do to impact this school community. The door will close on this chapter of my life soon enough, but not just yet. I want to enjoy it and make a difference where I am, while I still can. I encourage you to do the same when possible, with whatever stage of life you are in.  Everything is for a seasonThere is a season for everything in your life. Some seasons are amazing. Woo-hoo! You are overflowing with joy and fulfillment. This may be you. Some seasons are stressful, very difficult and we wonder how we can even get out of bed. This may be you. Please know that these times of hardship will not last and with God, his mercies are new every morning. He will give you the strength you need to make it through even your darkest of days. Whether something is an ordeal or adventure is up to you. We can so easily wish times away, but I encourage you to ask God to keep you in the moment. It is in some of our hardest times, that God reveals himself the most. It may be hard to believe as well, but the very things you dread today, surprisingly may be what you end up missing the most later on. Life is funny that way. Stay strong my friend. You got this and I am standing with you. Until next time, Dana Psalms 118:24: This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Little Lesson Learned: Those with open hearts see things that others miss.
Tags: patience, endurance, parenting, strength in trials, life lessonsCopyright: © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana, 2nd edition, 2021 first edition
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Waiting and hoping is a hard thing to do when you’ve already been waiting and hoping for almost as long as you can bear it. ~ Jenny Nimmo  Photo by christopher catbagan on Unsplash Charlie Brown is my absolute favourite of all the Peanuts Gang characters. He is so very loveable and sincere. My heart goes out to him so much though, because it seems he can never catch a break no matter how hard he tries. Daily life just seems very challenging for him. Whether he failed to impress the little redhead girl, Lucy keeps moving the football when he kicks it for the umpteenth time or he receives a rock from every house on Halloween instead of candy, life seems so hard for him. I can relate to Charlie Brown sometimes. I am sure you can too. There are just some days in life that are just. plain. hard. There are some dark seasons of disappointments, setbacks, struggle and heartbreak. Just when we think we are done the race, someone moves the finish line. We feel a breakthrough is coming and it doesn't transpire, or we too feel that we are getting only rocks from life instead of treats.  Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash I recall one year when I was an occasional teacher, a group of supply teachers were called to the Board office for a “special emergency meeting.” Contracts were limited at that time but being called in sounded so promising. Excited chatter filled the room as we felt like we had hit the jackpot and life was about to get "really good" career-wise. No-one knew why we had been called to HQ but we literally felt like the chosen ones. The anticipation was killing us, and one teacher finally spoke up and excitedly said to the executive who called the meeting “We are not quite sure what is going on here, but we all feel like little kids at Christmas time!” The executive coldly replied “I don’t know what your expectations are, but I want to make it clear, Santa’s bag is empty. The only reason why you were called here today is to say jobs are scarce and we just want to make sure we have your current contact information.” Oh wow! Talk about a major disappointment. Our expectations sure didn’t meet the reality that day. A rock in our treat bags for sure. When life does not turn out how we had hoped, it is very difficult to deal with. The plans we thought would work out fail some times. The dream we are working towards can seem unattainable or our prayers seemingly go unanswered. Our family has suffered so much loss these past few years. We prayed so hard for all of our loved ones, yet they all passed away. It was devastating. These seasons of life are so heartbreaking and just don't make sense.  Photo by Ben White on Unsplash My mom’s name was Marilyn. She was an incredible Christian lady, usually so full of life and joy. She was the type of woman who lit up a room with her infectious presence, a true blessing to all who were privileged to know her. Things were very hard for my mom. She was very ill and her “light” dimmed and seemingly blew out from the sadness and depression she experienced. Then in the midst of her depression she suddenly and very unexpectedly died. We were so unprepared. We did not get any redemption time with her that we had prayed so hard for. We had been waiting for that. Waiting doesn't mean we will get what we want but we must not lose hope. It was painful to see her struggle and we wonder why she was not healed? Why did this even happen to her? The questions went on and on. It is so hard to see someone we love struggle so much. We feel frustrated and powerless at times, yet we still must keep praying, believing, and waiting. Life is complicated. We live in a very fast-paced society where we are used to getting what we want or need quickly. Many aspects of life are not like that though. We must wait. We have no choice. We do not like to wait. When life puts us in a long line, the waiting room or a holding pattern, we can grow weary, angry and frustrated. We are tired of the valley and wonder if we will ever see the mountaintop. Oh, my friend, I have struggled with this so much through the years. When I was looking for a husband… When we were trying to start a family… When I miscarried my precious babies... When I was trying to get a job… When my sister had cancer… When my loved ones passed away… The list goes on and on. Why? Why? Why? Wondering, hoping, waiting, waiting and waiting some more! I would wonder why do some people get things seemingly easily, and others always struggle? It seemed so unfair to me. I saw people who did all the right things, have everything go wrong in their corner of the world. There are no easy answers.  Photo by AZGAN MjESHTRI on Unsplash I do not understand but still I must trust. Some answers as to why things happened the way they do may never come. I do know that I have a faith that has carried me through every valley. As I reflect on the most difficult seasons of my life, I know for certain, I was never alone. God heard my cries, but he had a different plan and his own time to bring things to pass. I heard a quote on the radio that said, “God doesn’t respond well to hurry up because he already has a plan and timeline.” I look at my history of trials and it is often after the challenging journey that I truly see God’s handiwork. It is always there, yet so hard to see when we are in the thick of our hard times. I wish I had “four easy tips” to help you get what you are longing for. I wish I could tell you exactly what to do and how to get through this. It is very difficult. There are many things I don’t know, but I do know that you will come through this if you keep hanging on. The advice I do have is if you are waiting for something important, special or serious for you or a loved one, please do not give up. Keep doing what you are doing to keep hope and your dreams alive. You are not alone. It is ok to get discouraged. It is ok to question God and to even be mad at him for what you are going through right now. Get it out of your system. Have your moment and your tears, but please don’t stay there. Some of my biggest trials have enabled me to help others in very powerful ways as I have walked their walk and lived to tell about it. My biggest struggles led me to bless others with what I learned along the way. Charlie Brown had hit after hit, yet he still... kept... going. We can learn from him. When life gets hard, even if it continues to be hard longer than we could ever imagine, please remember that one day you will have a story to tell of how you came through this challenging time. I don’t think so, I know so. Please know this and feel free to reach out if needed. ([email protected]) Until next time, I am waiting with you! ~ Dana Isaiah 40:31: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint. Little Lesson Learned: When life gets difficult and you are waiting for a breakthrough, know that you are not alone and you are stronger than you think. Copyright © 2024 littlelessonslearnedbydana, 2nd edition, 2021 1st edition Dana Romualdi, the copyright holder reserves all rights to the content on the blog and website Little Lessons Learned by Dana, including the right to reproduce, distribute, and display the content. No content or photographs may be reproduced or modified. Blogs may be shared on social media platforms in their entirety only with full credit given to the owner. Any photographs used by other photographers are used with permission and are also protected. All Rights Reserved.  Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash  Author: |
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