Good things take time. This has been a present theme in my life over the past few months. I have experienced a whirlwind of emotions in different areas of my life. I have been on cloud 9 and I have been at rock bottom. Neither of those are good for us if we experience them at their extremes. But if we pinpoint why we encounter them in that way and the cause, we can prevent it in the future. We can take the time to nurture our hearts the way they need to be nurtured. We can heal.
I think about the good things taking time and how again and again, this has always been the case. Whether it was a friendship, relationship, job, or school; the good things have always taken a little time. No matter how small of a matter or how big of a matter; I turn around in the end and I see the steps I had to take. I see the process. Maybe I was happy in the moment, but looking back brings a greater satisfaction; a greater thankfulness that I don’t experience in the process of making something good. Our gratitude grows as we learn to take a step back and pause for a minute. We pause so we can realize that good things do take time and the time they take is worth it. A million times yes; it is worth it.
Being gentle with this time is key. What I’ve learned is the more I try to figure things out or take control, the more frustrated, confused and disappointed I become. Realizing that I cannot control anyone but myself is one of the biggest lessons I have ever learned. I have to constantly remind myself of this.
Today, I have forgotten that good things take time. I was blinded from seeing this truth because I was only and solely focused on how long the process can be and how boring it can seem, but I have heart and I have courage and strength to continue forward because I have been at the end. I have reached the end and I have looked back with a smile on my face ready to risk it all again.
Sometimes there are situations in our life that tend to disrupt the norm in a big way. They have their way of sneaking in when we need them least. They happen so quickly yet seem to take up most of our time by consuming our thoughts and emotions. We want things and we want them now. We want to see the end result immediately and we want to know. We don’t want to take a moment to realize that walking into the unknown might bring the healing we need; that simply being still is where healing begins. We don't want to give our hearts exactly what they desire; time. We don't want to give ourselves exactly what we need; a period of peace and reflection and rest. But this is what we need. We need to walk through life gently and live softly. We need to take the time to be restored and to be made whole again.
Cherish the time it takes for what you need to come forth. When we finally get to the end and look back, because of the time it took, we will hold this gift with much adoration. It will be the start of experiencing a new found strength and that is something we have to risk every time.
Alex