My Two Cents On Life And All That For What It's Worth

Life.

It's beautiful, so they say.

I used tell my sister that I wanted to be able to paint Life. 

And by that I meant paint the whole of it, the essence of it, the entirety of it. All the people, and places, and hopes and dreams and heartbreaks. 

Life is full of beauty, without a doubt. It's also full of pain. There's nothing harder to accept than that idea. No one can arrange to be completely untouched by sorrow in their lifetime.

It's just not a part of the deal.

But what is part of the deal, what is guaranteed to us, is that throughout everything that happens - whether to us, to our family, or to our friends - we will always have God there to rely on. No matter what, He will always be there for us.

It's hard to fathom, sometimes, the meaning of suffering. Questions pile up in the anxious imaginative human mind faster than popcorn from one of those adorable old-fashioned little red machines. Honestly, sometimes my thoughts flood me in a veritable storm. And it's hard to slow down and deal with all of them logically. Comes from having an artistic brain, I suppose.

Trust is hard to learn sometimes. And yet trusting in God is the best thing that we can do. No matter how long it takes, He is there for us. Patiently He waits. He loves us so much... Not a thousand years and a million words could describe how much love He has for us.

I've realized over the summer, this crazy, chaotic summer that I spent first in Ireland and then at home with my family, that sometimes the best thing for me to do, when I'm feeling overwhelmed and scared, is to take a step back and put my trust in Him.

Because no matter how much I want to be able to control everything, no matter how much I want to be able to fix everything in the lives of the people I love, it's just not humanly possible.

This is Life, and it's part of the deal. Sure, Life is crazy. It's chaotic. It's overwhelming.

But don't forget, it's also beautiful. It will always be beautiful.

I still do want to paint Life. Someday. Somehow.

Not know, of course. I'm not ready.

It's definitely a goal, tho.

I mean consider. Life is mysterious. It's our existence. It's waking up and going to work, it's talking a friend through a panic attack, it's cooking food for loved ones. Life is holding a baby and feeling the grip of tiny fingers. Life is watching the stars come out late at night under a prairie sky. Life is dancing with your Dad and having a secret handshake with your brother. 

There's something about the beauty despite the rough twists and turns that draws me in. Something about the people, the lovely people, the funny and serious and beautiful souls around me.

Something about the gorgeous natural beauty that surrounds me. Ireland was a never-to-be forgotten adventure in that respect. I came away with a completely different perspective and a new energy.

I don't know... There is just something about the prospect of learning and growing to be the best person I can be - and knowing there are others out there trying to do the same - that makes me want to keep pushing forward.

I want to see what Life has in store for me next.

Here's to a new semester. 

And here's to friends.

Which is what y'all are. In case you didn't know.

See ya around.

~ Rosie 💕