The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.
(Mark Twain)
Why, why, why was I born? You may be asking yourself this question, especially if you are struggling, feeling unwanted or even questioning your existence? Have you ever wondered why you’re here on earth at wherever place you are, or even why this particular time in history?
According to Mark Twain, the two most important days of our lives are the day you were born and the day you find out why. We all know the day we were born, that is, someone must have informed us or it is captured on an official document.
The fortunate ones, enjoy birthday celebrations from their first year till present. The slightly fortunate ones, get their birthdays celebrated throughout their childhood or at least until their teen years. The less fortunate, perhaps will never know if their birthdays were ever celebrated.
Even if no one ever celebrated your birthday with you, it doesn’t detract from the fact that you’re a precious child. Believe that there is someone who loves you, even if that someone is not your biological parents. No one is totally unloveable. Not convinced? (Read the short story below – Love Stays).
Just because the decisions and actions of those closest to you may seem unfair to you, it doesn’t mean they are rejecting you. Even if they are really preferring someone else over you, for whatever reason, you can choose not to let their choices affect who you are. Your identity is not tied to how people behave towards you, or think about you.
You may be experiencing rejection right now. The most hurtful are from those whom you think are closest to you. You thought they knew you better, but yet they were the ones to wound you. Your struggles do not make you less significant. You are born for a purpose. Although you may not yet know what that reason is, you’re no less insignificant.
If you’ve lived life long enough, you may actually be clued in on the purpose for your existence. By reflecting not only on the happy moments of your life, but also the setbacks and your response to those challenging times, you may get a better sense of why you’re alive today.
You see, it is up to you to choose your response to the challenges that come your way. Even if you fail or regret your choices, you can still get up and start again. You still have opportunities because you’re alive. The people who hurt you will also have to face the consequences of their decisions. They may seriously think their way is justifiable, but if they are motivated by selfish reasons, they or the generations after them will suffer from these choices. That is the law of sowing and reaping. What goes around, comes around. Even for parents who play favorites. So parents, please don’t provoke your children. You’re hurting them.
So chin up, there is more to life. Don’t follow those who seem to get away with “murder “. There is a God who sees and He knows even when we think no one knows. He searches all of our hearts and knows our deepest thoughts. That’s why no secret is ever a secret forever.
If you choose the way of kindness and goodness, you will meet Hope. It may just be around the corner from where you are. Life may not seem to be turning up the way you expect, but it will get better if we don’t give up. Be contented with what you can see and experience. More than a quarter of the world’s population – some 2.2 billion people – suffer from vision impairment. If you can see, you’re one of the fortunate ones.
So celebrate the small things. Choose joy!
Artist: Lydia C. Text: Anna G.
Love Stays
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.
“Your son is here,”she said to the old man.
She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought a chair so that the marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night, the young marine sat there in the poorly lit ward, holding the man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength.
Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, but only held tightly to the marine’s hand all through the night. As dawn approached, the old man died.
The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.
“Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled, “He was your father,”she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.”
The next time someone needs you… just be there. Stay.
