Common
Two people meet by chance but soon discover all the things they have in common. As more similarities come forth, they are almost in disbelief.
How can two people that live hours apart be going through similar situations?
At first, it is as if you’re comparing notes. This happened in my situation … yeah, well, this happened in my situation …
And you stare out into space.
There is someone out there going through what you are going through. You are NOT alone after all.
Pretty soon, you begin to seek each other out. When there’s a conflict, you know you can confide in each other. You find comfort in sharing with someone that truly understands as they have been there or are there right this very minute.
You become each other’s therapists in a way. Although not licensed by any means, you have the credentials because you have lived it.
When we question why things happen in this life and find no answers, we have come to realize that God allows them so we can be a support system to someone else going through something similar. That has to be it. God doesn’t want us walking through life alone, so he puts people in our path so we can help each other through the hard things in life.
Ecclesiastes 4:10
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
Help
Psalm 121: 1,2
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
A chapel on the side of the mountains can be found near the South Carolina and North Carolina border. It is actually the Greenville YMCA Camp; however, most everyone around knows it as Pretty Place.
We stumbled upon this unique chapel a few years ago in our search for waterfalls. Intrigued by the name, we ventured up the windy mountain road through the fog to have our breath taken away when we saw it.
Pretty Place
Lining the alter area, that looks out into the valley below, are plagues with various bible verses and sayings. Above the beautiful wooden cross is the bible verse, “I will lift up my eyes to the hills …”
I’ll never forget taking my parents to this chapel. I talked about it several times, but I finally had the opportunity a few years ago when we took my parents on a mini-vacation. This was one of our final stops, and I’m sure they didn’t know what to expect.
My dad walked into the entrance of the open-air chapel and stopped right in his tracks. The beauty and reverence of the place struck him, and he had trouble keeping his composure. After having battled quite a few things in his life and getting ready to face yet another battle, he was overwhelmed with emotion as he took a seat. Staring out into the wonder of God’s creation with the mountains and valleys in sight, he sat with God. Although no words were said out loud, none needed to pass his lips as it went straight from his heart to God.
There was no doubt – for we knew my dad met God right there in that fog filled chapel right as the sun was setting.
Start
Today is a great day to make a brand new start.
You can begin again. Right where you are.
If you don’t like where you’ve been dwelling, change the scenery.
If you don’t like the thoughts that consume you, choose to focus on something more positive.
If you don’t like the choices you’ve made in the past, make better choices from this point forward.
It’s all up to YOU! No one else can do it for you!
Choose to begin again. Put your best foot forward, whether it’s in a relationship, on your job, with your family … make the change and be the best person you can be – for yourself and for your loved ones. They are depending on you and need you in their lives.
It breaks their hearts when they see you struggling with things you’ve done to yourself. No one got you where you are today except for YOURSELF. It’s not your mama’s fault, your friend’s fault, your coworker’s fault … it’s not the person that did you wrong when you were 13 or the man down the street that looked at you wrong. It’s all on YOU.
Remember: Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% on how you react to it.
There is so much truth in that.
