Nikki Rosen's Blog, page 7

Thankful Thursday - Miracles

In order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles. David Ben-Gurion. 

Miracles! They happen all the time.....everyday......all day.....small things, and big. The brilliance of the sun, the colour of a rainbow,  stars shimmering in the night like tiny beacons, spotting an owl poking his head from a crevice in a tree, hearing early morning birds sing their sweet songs, a child's smiling face, a stranger's kindness.

And of course the big things - a dream fulfilled, a life spared, breaking free, realizing love. And the list goes one.....everyday, all day.
 
Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Faith.

“Faith’s most severe tests come not when we see nothing, but when we see a stunning array of evidence that seems to prove our faith vain.”  Elisabeth Elliot

So many times it seemed like the thing I needed or wanted couldn't happen. It even seemed as if everything was totally against it happening.  But just when I thought there was no way, that it was impossible.....BABAM! All the pieces fell into place and it became reality. 

I've learned that faith is seeing beyond circumstances. Faith is believing in spite of everything appearing like there's no way, can't happen, impossible. 

When I tell my kids I want to swing by the rickety bridge before going home, they always ask me, 'you got an inclining, Mom?'  I didn't know what they meant at first but it seemed that every time I felt the urge to take the detour, there was always some amazing bird or animal for us to see. Was it an inclining, or just a desire? I didn't know but now I think I do feel something in my gut....an inclining that something might be there and I don't want to miss out experiencing it.

And those things I hope for,  - maybe it's about an inclining too.....a knowing in my gut that something is there, a plan, a purpose, something amazing that He's getting ready to bring about. 

Faith - for me is believing no matter what, especially if something is niggling inside, a sense of something amazing being there, waiting to become reality. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.  

Thankful Thursday - Support

You don't need a mother and a father; you don't necessarily even need two parents. You just need someone who's got your back.  Jodi Picoult. 

That's all it takes - one person in your corner; one person routing for you...believing in you - knowing you can make it through whatever you need to get through. 

The power of One believing in your resilience. To me, that's incredibly powerful. Knowing Someone's got your back - cheering you on - That's all it takes for me to make it past whatever life hits me with. 

That One for me started with Him. Now there are others - people close to me - who love me, who have my back and cheer me on - who believe for my best. 

I wonder sometimes the people who struggle, who give up, who lose the ability to fight - I wonder if in their eyes, no one is in their corner. They're in it alone.   

No one can make it out here alone. We all need Somebody in our corner. 

Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Fear vs Faith.

"Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves." Cheryl Strayed. 

It's easy to be afraid - to think the worst...to fear what's going to happen in the future, or even worry about simple day to day things. 

And sometimes, I'm afraid to be true to myself....to stand up for what I believe when others around me don't want me to. 

But I always remember what someone once told me about fear. 

Fear is the opposite of faith. The two are like a positive and negative magnet. They always repel each other. It's impossible to bring the two together. 

Faith and fear work the same. It's impossible to move in fear and faith at the same time. 

Fear is all about thinking - what if so and so happens. What if I can't do it. What if I fail. What if.....

Faith is all about trusting - I'm okay, everything will work out for my highest good. And for me I know He's got my back. He has a plan, and a purpose and has promised to work out all details for my highest good. Even the bad stuff will eventually turn out amazing. 

Yep I choose to kick fear to the curb and walk in faith.
Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Struggles

"Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It's growing out of sour earth. And it's strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong." Betty Smith. 

Life can sometimes be unfair, a huge struggle, but I think everyone at some point in their life faces tough times. 

Some people give up. They can't fight it.  Others refuse to let the darkness claim them. They stay in the game. They hold on and come back fighting again and again and again.

I see that in the women I meet in my workshops. They are resilient, strong.....brave. They can't see it at the time of their biggest battle - but I do. And when they come through the fight - they're solid, strong, beautiful. 

Maybe it's in the tough stuff we become who we're truly meant to be. 

When I walk by the water, and touch the smooth rocks lying on the sand, I think of how they got that way. The constant crashing waves hitting them over and over wore off all their sharp edges. 

I see now that all those times I got hit with something I thought I couldn't handle, but refused to give up and trusted.....I became  stronger. And the rough edges, the not so pretty, the angry, the self pity, -  softened. 
Even the awful things that happen to us has purpose. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

 

Thankful Thursday - Purpose.

"The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose in life is to give it away." Pablo Picasso. 

We all have it - a talent, an ability, a skill - something unique that defines us, makes us stand out.....a thing we're really good at, or love doing. It could be anything - art, helping, serving, being an amazing mom, not just to your own kids but to the kids in the neighbourhood, an organizer, a collector, an intellect, an incredible gardener. The list is endless......

For a good chunk of my life I didn't think I had anything special, nothing to give back, nothing that had value. But as I started to feel good about myself, I figured my 'gift,' the thing I'm good at....the thing that pumps me, gives me passion - it's giving hope...hope that at one time I didn't have. 

Yesterday I dropped off some books of In the Eye of Deception, to an organization that helps homeless women. They wanted the books to give to the women. I left the bag and as I was walking back to my car, I heard my name being called. The women I had given the bag to, ran up to me. 

I just realized you wrote the book, the book that touched me big time. I wanted to meet you, she said. Tears slipped down her face. When I hugged her, she whispered, 'thank-you.'

My purpose.....giving back hope. http://write2empower.webs.com/
Happy Thursday, Guys.
Pablo Picasso
Read more at: http://www.azquotes.com/author/11640-Pablo_Picasso

Thankful Thursday - Kindness

"The highest form of wisdom is kindness." The Talmud. 

Whenever I've gone through hard times and felt on edge,  trying hard to keep things together, and then someone showed me kindness, something strange happened.  

Their simple gesture, or smile, or kind word helped me let go of the fight and relax and breath easier. And their kindness, even if just for a brief moment, gave me hope.....hope to hold on, to stay in the game, to not give up.

There's a wisdom in being kind, a power that nothing else equals. 

I used to be really hard on myself, but I know I can't only be kind to others, I also need to show myself kindness. For me that meant accepting I'll blow it, mess up at times, but making mistakes doesn't mean I'm a mistake. 

Living kind takes the edge off.   Happy Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - The Journey

"No one escapes the wilderness on the way to the promised land." Annie Dillard.

There were times I hung around life....waiting....desperate for things that never seemed to happen. I held onto hope even when it seemed  impossible for things I yearned for to become reality. 

I mopped around, and languished in the belief that the things I ached for, home, family, peace - were for others, not for me. Simple things. Everyday things. Things nevertheless I hungered to have with all my heart.

The wilderness, the times of emptiness and longing had purpose though. I see it now. It was a place to pass through to get to where I wanted. 

I've discovered there's a beauty in the wilderness and lessons to be learned, lessons that have never left me.

 The most important is gratitude. Making it through left me with tremendous gratitude - gratitude for the small stuff, the everyday, the sun rising and setting, the sweet smell of grass and trees and flowers, the smile on a stranger's face, the kindness of those I meet everyday.

And having trekked the wilderness taught me to let go of certain things and also to trust. The tough times don't last forever. They are only a stopover place. 

A friend used to tell me all the time, 'this too shall pass.' I didn't believe it then, but I know it to be true today.

Have an amazing Thursday, Guys. 

Thankful Thursday - Scars

"To be alive at all is to have scars." J.D. Salinger. 
We all have them - scars on our bodies, or invisible ones on our soul. Scars that got there because of hurt, pain or some horrible mistake we made. 

Scars that once left deep imprints and caused tremendous angst and shame, now simply remind of us what was.....a time past.....of what we fought, made it through, overcame. 

Scars that have become marks of victory over things we once believed would bring us down. 

Scars are proof we survived. 

We overcame the tough stuff and lived to tell the tale. Those scars reminders every day, if we could make it through those horrors, and devastation, we are able to make it through whatever else comes our way. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.

Thankful Thursday - Difference

"Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me.  Cheryl Strayed. 

I used to run on fear. Fear colored everything I did or didn't do.  I didn't feel safe in the world, or strong. Definitely not brave. 

And then something happened. A touch of love - love that stayed, love that refused to give up, love that showed me a different way. 

Because of that love, fear slowly shifted to faith. Faith that I can, Faith that I will. Faith that I am safe and strong and brave. Faith trumped the dance of fear. 

Today I know, I can do anything. That love is still there, championing me on.....whispering every day, you can, you will, you're safe and strong and brave. 

Grateful for love that persisted and turned the darkness into light. 

Happy Thursday, Guys.