I went for a run today.
Now, normally I wouldn't be broadcasting such a thing. And if I did, it would be to poke fun at our little gym-rat social media friends, [you all know who they are. And they want you to know that they're #gettingswoll] But that is not the reason that I brought it up. [Although I am completely yoked sooo....]
Anyway, I brought it up because running makes me think. Somehow all of my wild ideas and epiphanies come to me whilst breathing heavy and sweating in the frigid cold.
So I decided to share just a few snippets of the knowledge I gained today.
1. Never wear yoga pants while running in below freezing weather. Excuse my unlady-like language, but my bum has never been colder in my entire life.
2. The world is truly a beautiful place. A breathtakingly beautiful creation from God, and one of our greatest blessings.
3. Lauren Halliday. Now before you get confused why a name and not a mantra is my number three, let me explain.
Lauren Halliday has always been one of my good friends. In fact, she was one of my best friends in high school. The reason why she came to mind today was because her farewell is tomorrow! This beautiful sister is serving in Orlando, Florida. I am so excited for her. Anyway, Lauren has always been a wonderful girl. But, in my best-friend-opinion, I don't believe that she had found "herself" until recently. And I think that she may agree. Lauren was always one of those girls who would follow the crowd in high school. Not to the point that she would do bad things; she was always willing to stand up for herself in that way. I just think that she didn't know what she really wanted. And so she would try to follow what others wanted in order to maybe find what she wanted along the way.
Well Lauren was on the cheer team with me in high school. Flashback to my pre-existence/high school days and you'll see that I was never the "best friend" type. I was definitely friends with everyone on our team, but I didn't really have one that I could call up at anytime and we would go shopping together, or whatever best friends do. As I slowly got more comfortable with the team, I started forming stronger friendships. For sure my strongest friendship was with Lauren. And that's when she became my best friend. And that's also about the time that I got very comfortable with having a best friend on my team. But, as all stories are, this one didn't end up how I would have liked it to at the time.
Long story short, she ended up quitting halfway through our senior year. I haven't really been able to admit this until now, but let me tell you, I was ticked. I wasn't upset with her, but more her decision. I could not believe that she had left me best friendless and really, kind of lonely. Okay, not that extreme, but I was a little peeved and confused. And it was this time that she really stopped having a lot of friends. She didn't run in the same social circles that she had before, and so she was cut out from many things that made up her life for so many years before. To be honest, I wasn't the best friend to her at this time. I didn't shun her or anything, but our friendship wasn't as easy and convenient as it used to be. We still talked and hung out, but not nearly as much as we did before. Plus, like I said, I was a little peeved at her. I was best friendless again (an unbelievably familiar thing for me at this point, but we won't get into my past now). Now, I'd like to tell you that it ruined my year so that I could say I was mad for a reason, but life went on. Things worked out.
But here's where my thought process led me today. Lauren Halliday has her life figured out. She knows what she wants to do with her life and where she wants to be. Most importantly, she has figured out who she is. I completely admire her for that. But it took making a tricky decision to get her where she needed to be. Looking back, I completely admire her for the decision she made. In the past I was upset because her decision was not what decision I would have made; or, quite frankly, it wasn't a decision that would have been best for me. But, even though this decision was extremely hard for her, she knew that she had to do it. She knew that it was the right decision for her. And to take a beating just because you have faith in what Heavenly Father's plan is for you is completely admirable to me. And look where she ended up now. She has everything going for her, and I am SO excited for those people of Florida to be able to be blessed by her presence.
My point is, sometimes what is best for others, isn't always best for you. And what is best for you isn't always what is best for others. You're life isn't for another person to live. Your life is your own and has unique plans and goals and paths that may be a lonesome road. But if you have a little faith, you'll know that it's the right one for you. You may not know how or why, but I promise you, God has a plan for you. He loves you. You are his child. And if you trust in him, he will guide you to eternal happiness.
If you look reeeeally closely, you'll realize that it's snowing on my blog.
