Sometimes we go through so much that it becomes hard to see our accomplishments. The day-to-day unpredictability of life can be so draining, so disheartening that our largest goal is just to make it through. We can never seem to catch a break. Our prayers feel unanswered. The people we should be able to depend on continuously let us down. We miss the mark and blame ourselves because, well, it’s gotta be our fault right?
Life is hard. Being a grown-up is hard. Being a parent is hard. Being a husband/wife is hard. Being a child, a sibling, a friend is hard. Honestly, it never truly gets easy. There are easy moments, but life wasn’t meant to be easy. The problem many of us have though, is not how hard life is, but how much we focus on how hard life is.
One of the things I had to learn (and am still learning) is how to be present in the moment. How often do we stop and admire the color of the sky? The beauty of the flowers growing on the side of the highway? The infectious sound of a baby’s giggle? We focus so much on trying to fix all of the things going wrong, that we fail to pat ourselves on the back because we made it through another day. We fail to notice the moment we stopped and took a deep breath instead of saying what came to our minds. We fail to remember how we navigated our way through the muck of a situation that was meant to break us. We fail to acknowledge that we’re still here, in spite of all the things.
So learn how to celebrate the small wins. You said you were going to the gym four times this week, and only made it once, but Sis, you MADE it! Celebrate! This morning you woke up and instead of jumping right into the drama of your day, you stopped, picked up your Bible and prayed it in. Celebrate! You’re so used to being the dependable one, the one everyone calls for everything, but today, you said no. Celebrate! For once, you took yourself on a date, you sat and watched a sappy movie with your favorite snacks, you slept in. Sis…CELEBRATE!
The small things really aren’t that small in the larger scheme of things. I know you want the big win, the win that feels unattainable, the win you’ve made all the sacrifices for. And you will get it. But wouldn’t getting there be so much better if you celebrate along the way? If you remember to smile? To laugh? If you release the pressure? If you learn how to look at yourself and see growth instead of stagnation?
The rest of us can see you blooming. We are cheering you on. We see how far you’ve come and we’re proud of you. We’re watching your ascent and can’t wait for you to make it to the top. We are celebrating you Sis.
Take a moment and celebrate yourself.
