"When life comes at you fast!"

How prepared are we to handle life's uncertainties? This is really a very challenging question for some people to answer because often times many don't really think about life's uncertainties. Then there are those who live on the other side of the spectrum. They allow life's challenges to be the focus of their existence but still are unable to handle the pressures when they come. Although they allow this state of mind to consume them, it still doesn't prepare them for when 'life comes at you fast." What this means is that we do not prepare for life's uncertainties with a negative mindset based in fear but the approach should be more living our best life while being prepared for whatever happens on any given day. The thing is when people don't live this way, it causes then to be stressed out for every and anything. They just can't handle life even the very trivial things causes them to be bent out of shape. The point being made is not that things will not affect us when we are faced with them but how we let them affect and impact us when they fall right into our laps. It is even obvious when two people share similar experiences and respond in completely different ways. However there is nothing wrong with that because we all are different but at the end of the day our situations good or bad should never stop us from moving forward or stop living.

I remember reading the book, "Great Expectation" in high school with the woman Ms Havisham who was jilted at the altar and from that day on she remained in the wedding dress with the house and everything in the same manner it was on that day when her bridegroom didn't show up. Some would thing she was a wacko, just like I did but what happened was that never in her wildest dreams did she believe that this would happen to her and therefore she was not prepared for it. Now nobody should have to suffer this fate of not being able to move on because something happened unexpectedly. Unfortunately in life stuff happens that no one can explain, there are just no answers, so what do we do? How does one move on? There are no right and wrong answers because this is not cut and dry but we have the choice to either be like Ms Havisham or eat that wedding cake by ourselves or have a "waiting to exhale" party and cuss at every man ever created. The way we move on and we should move on is up to us. We may never be the same again because of the experience but we should "own" it but not let it own us.

One of Jesus' departing words to his disciple was that in this world we will have troubles but we should be courageous because He overcame the world. I used to ponder over those words as a new convert, as to what they actually meant, and how would I apply them to my life. So I had to personalize it and make it practical for my life's experiences. After all that is the intent of the teachings of Jesus if one chooses to be His follower, living with the same moral values as He did. Paraphrasing those cautionary words I take them to mean that, yes in life we are gonna have to deal with problems of different magnitude but all I need to remember is that Jesus lived in the world, faced problems, temptations etc but He didn't let them get the better of Him. So in spite of what life throws at us or as the commercial says, "when life comes at you fast," you are prepared for it even if you didn't expect it. With this in mind we can handle life's challenges.
Sisterly