Life is… messy. It’s complicated. It’s beautiful and ugly, inspiring and crushing, hopeful and hopeless, all at once. And relationships? Well, they can be complicated too ~ we love, but then in our love, we hurt those we love or are hurt by them. Still, we love. Sometimes the assault is from an external source, and sometimes it comes from within (don’t even get me started on how we tend to be our own worst enemy, rather than our own best friend). The fact is bad things really do happen to good people, just as good things happen to bad people. In fact, the Bible even tells us this:

~ His sun shines on bad people and on good people. He sends rain on those who are right with God and on those who are not right with God. (Matt. 5:45)

We know these things happen. We know that there will be times in our lives that are filled with laughter, light, love, and great success and joy. And there will also be times of sorrow, loneliness, anger, frustration, and darkness. Most likely, we can’t control anything that happens to us (how can we possibly control the storm?), but we can control how we react to them. We can control how we let them affect us. We can choose to focus on the good, cling to the knowledge that nothing lasts forever and that even in the midst of the storm, He is with us.

When we change our focus, we change our life.

When we focus on the good, we aren’t living in denial of the bad, we’re just choosing to see the light in the darkness, to behold the beauty in the storm, to feel refreshment in the rain, and to understand there’s a purpose in the pain.

When we understand that this too shall pass, we can move forward, knowing that we will get through whatever is trying to take us out. Sometimes we’re able to do this on our own, but most of the time, we need help. We need God on our side (knowing and trusting that He will never leave us or forsake us), and we need people on our side too. Our friends and/or families are powerful resources for getting through the tough times. They encourage us, strengthen us, and give us a safe place to rest when we’re weary.

Yes, life can be messy, but if it weren’t, it wouldn’t be colorful, and it wouldn’t be such an exhilarating ride!