Life ain't always beautiful...but it's a beautiful ride...

I would never try to imagine what another soul has had to endure on this earth.  Everyone’s story is their own.  Everyone has had their heartbreak, their brokenness, their goodness and some can even see the beauty at the end of all of it. 

What is that old saying... 

“God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, or sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.  If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.” Unknown

I believe that to be true. Oh, sure, I have been in dark places and thought that was a load of crap.  But at the end of every struggle God has ever brought me through, I know God has been on the other side reminding me that life can be beautiful. 

I think the best example I ever heard about God’s love for us was what Clark Davis says in the movie Love Comes Softly, he said:

“Missy could fall down and hurt herself, even if I'm walking right there beside her. That doesn't mean that I allowed it to happen. She knows, as far as unconditional love, I'll pick her up and I'll carry her. I'll try to heal her. I'll cry when she cries. And I'll rejoice when she is well. In all the moments of my life, God has been right there beside me. The truth of God's love is not that he allows bad things to happen. It's His promise that he'll be there with us when they do.”

That is just it, isn’t it?  Life happens! It is a series of unfortunate events all leading back to that damn snake in the Garden of Eden. God gave us free will and apart from it there can be no love.  So while we suffer everyone’s free will to make their own decisions, we must trust that God will be with us through everything.  That the love that He has for us and us for Him will be enough to get us through each tragedy that consumes us. Think about it for a minute… That time you fell and broke your arm… He was with you….your family member left this world suddenly…He was with you…your brother, sister, uncle, aunt, mother, father did drugs and hurt your family over and over again….God was with you…that time that family member touched you wrong…God was with you…your boyfriend/girlfriend/wife/husband, betrayed you, left you…God was with you…

“..all the moments of my life, God has been right there beside me…”

I believe that with my whole heart.  God has been my one true constant.  He reminds me everyday why life isn’t always beautiful the journey is, and why we need to continue to love one another; how important it is to LOVE. 

Life ain’t always beautiful but it’s a beautiful ride…

I love that song by Gary Allen (see the lyrics at the bottom).  He also sings another song that I love where he says

“Go find a new rose, don’t be afraid of the thorns ’cause we all have thorns” (Every Storm runs out of rain)

… his music is beautiful.  He reminds us to take a chance, keep loving and keep moving forward….

I know a lot of you have been through so much and you are feeling plain tired and worn out.

Life can break your heart.  My friend wrote this the other day as a status update on Facebook.  It really hit home for me.  It is a struggle I think a lot of us face.  She said it so perfectly I asked if I could post it in my blog.  She was kind enough to let me.

“Don't ever believe you know someone completely, because one day you may find out you didn't really know them at all. And don't ever think you can't possibly be hurt worse than you've been hurt by someone you love, because one day you may find out you can. Nothing is ever a sure thing except one thing. And that's God's love for you. No matter how bad the pain is, or how broken you are, God is waiting there to rescue you. All you have to do is trust Him and cry out to Him to rescue you. God hears the prayers of the brokenhearted.” Sue Smith

When my boyfriend broke up with me suddenly out of nowhere, I was right there in those words.  I never thought he would ever do what he did.  I thought I would never hurt more than I did in those days as God worked with me through my healing.  In all my brokenness God was there.  He was right there with me and I know He heard each cry of my heart, wiped each tear and held me each moment of the day I felt I couldn’t go on.  The one constant was His voice in my head that said He loved me and He would NEVER leave me.  That no matter who came in and out of my life He was the One true constant. 

In time I came to appreciate more and more the pain I suffered because it brought me even closer to God.  There is no comfort in the world like the comfort the Lord provides.  Because of His comfort I can comfort others; I know this because of the people God brought into my life every time tragedy would strike. He always brought the right people at the right time and His comfort would pour over me like living water.  It makes me want to reach out and comfort others suffering.  I want to ease their pain, because I know how much it hurts.

“He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” 2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT

Never under estimate the love God has for you.  No matter what you are facing today, God is right there with you.  He will heal you, He will cry when you cry and He will rejoice when you are well….

...life ain't always beautiful...but it's a beautiful ride...

God bless you dear ones and remember to SHINE!

"Life Ain't Always Beautiful"

Life aint always beautiful
Sometimes it's just plain hard
Life can knock you down, it can break your heart
Life aint always beautiful
You think you're on your way
And it's just a dead end road at the end of the dayBut the struggles make you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way of takin it's sweet time
[CHORUS]
No, life aint always beautiful
Tears will fall sometimes
Life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride

Life aint always beautiful
Some days I miss your smile
I get tired of walkin all these lonely miles
And I wish for just one minute
I could see your pretty face
Guess I can dream, but life don't work that way

But the struggles make you stronger
And the changes make you wise
And happiness has its own way of takin it's sweet time

No, life aint always beautiful
But I know i'll be fine
Hey, life aint always beautiful
But it's a beautiful ride
What a beautiful ride

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