Turning Points

So you just got that big promotion at your job. Maybe you just found out that you’re going to be a parent or a grandparent. You may have just answered a very important question in which the answer was simply “yes,” and now you realize that you will soon be planning the “big day” that you’ve always dreamed of. Maybe you just touched base with long lost family members, and your heart is overjoyed with the thought of finally meeting them after years of uncertainty. Maybe you just graduated and now realize that you accomplished something that you, at one point in your life, never could have imagined for yourself.

Good turning points.

So you just got the news…the news you’ve been hoping you wouldn’t hear. You heard the words and immediately, you want to rewind the last few minutes and tell yourself that the doctor is wrong. This can’t be. It just can’t. Maybe you just lost your job, and you can’t bear the thought of how you’re going to provide for yourself and your family. Maybe you just found out that the love of your life has been unfaithful and suddenly, you’re broken. You feel like you’ve failed. Or maybe, someone very near and dear to your heart is suddenly no longer with you on this Earth. You don’t know which way is up or which way is down. Your world, as you have known it thus far, is falling apart. It’s crashing down around you, and there’s a part of you that hopes it’ll just take you with it and spare you anymore misery.

Bad turning points.

Happiness. Joy. Laughter. Smiles. Heartbreak. Sadness. Tears. Frowns.

The complexity of human behavior and emotions. The unpredictability of this journey that we call life. None of the above are ever meant to be understood. Yet it sure is funny how we try so darn hard to make sense of it all, isn’t it?

It’s actually pretty exhausting. You see, the fact of the matter is this: there is no right or wrong way for us to live our lives. There’s no real play book to tell us how to handle certain situations that we’re faced with. All we can do is our best. Sometimes, we can really surprise ourselves in doing what we know to be our best. Sometimes, we may disappoint ourselves, too. That’s okay. If you’ve been going through a really rough patch lately and your tears have been outweighing your smiles, but you managed to just get out of bed today, know that you’re strong. If you’re working an insane amount of hours and sacrificing time with your family and friends, know that you’re inspiring. If you just received that dreaded news that you didn’t want to hear, know that you’re a fighter.

Whatever cross God has given to us to bear, we must embrace it. Good turning points. Bad turning points. Both will shape us into the people that we’re meant to be. Both will bring tears, be it happy or sad. Both will test us in so many trying ways, only to make us stronger than we were before.

There will be moments when you’re absolutely ecstatic about the good turning points in life, but there will also be the moments when you’re incredibly sad about the bad turning points in life. Just know that these turning points do not define you. Sure, some of the bad turning points will break you, but you will not remain broken forever. The good turning points may excite you, however they may also slightly scare you, but you will not remain scared forever.

You will grow. You will accept. You will embrace. You will inspire.

And quite honestly, that’s one of the most beautiful things to witness in life.

“The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.” – Max Lerner