The Best is Yet to Come

Hi Everyone,

Like everyone else, I get down in the dumps sometimes, with life's up and downs (and sometimes more downs than ups). And we all have our ways of dealing with it, and how we pull ourselves out of a slump….talk to a friend, indulge ourselves for a while (sometimes I go shopping when I'm feeling sorry for myself…buying shoes can cheer me up). Other times, it takes more effort to rev our engines up again. When a slew of things knock us down, it can take a while to get back up.  And although it's not for everyone, I've mentioned before that I'm religious. That's a very personal choice, and it works for me, and keeps me afloat, on a daily basis, and particularly in bad times. I don't sell it to anyone, it just works for me. I've been married to an atheist, and a non-practicing Catholic, and I've never expected anyone (not even my children) to follow what I do. It is an entirely personal choice. So I'm not selling it to you either.

A few years ago, while staying in a hotel in New York, I flipped through the channels of the TV and came across a young minister doing a TV show. He was from Texas, but it wasn't religion of the bible-thumping variety. But just a very positive, practical view of life, which really touched me—and would have made sense even without religion. It was a way of looking at things, of focusing on the positive, rather than the negative, and being grateful for what's right in our lives, rather than dwelling on what's wrong. I loved what he said. His name was Joel Osteen. And not long after, again while travelling, and walking through an airport, I saw a book he'd written and bought it. The book became a #1 bestseller, and I loved it. It was that same warm, practical, positive philosophy I'd seen and heard when I saw him on TV.

I just finished his third book today, and I loved this one too. He reminds one that even if your life seems to be in the pits right now—-any minute it could turn around. Your health could improve, you could get a better job, your marriage might get better, or you may finally find the man or woman you've been looking for. What he gives in his books is Hope, something I think is so essential in life. And it's easy to lose hope sometimes, we've all done it. I have. Maybe you have too. When things just get so bad, you think you can't stand it anymore. The death of someone you love, the end of a marriage, a bad divorce, money troubles, a child you are desperately worried about, or a serious health problem, or even a slew of smaller problems that add up, or a failed romance, or you've just had too many disappointments in your life. Or sometimes just an overlay of gray on your life. We forget that things could, might, and will get better again, that things will shift and improve. I forget that anyway, when things are looking bleak, and they have at times, I think it's 'all over', and it will be that way forever.  In his books, Joel Osteen gently turns you around to see a different view, a different side of things, a better perspective. His books really work for me. They pull me right out of the dumps and get me back on my feet and headed in the right direction. Even without the religious aspect or inspiration, his positive philosophy really does make sense, and gives me hope, and the tools and inspiration to look at things more positively again.

When I finished his book today, I had the same feeling of hope I had after reading his other books….and I found myself thinking….Yeah, I really CAN do it….yes, it will be okay….and that the knotty problem of the moment could and will improve. He reminds you that your dreams can come true, that the 'curses' people put on us (family beliefs, or bad things people have said to us) have no power, and can't hold us back.  I love thinking that my dreams will come true.

Something he said toward the end of this book rang a chord of memory for me, like a giant reminder. It was like having a window thrown open and seeing bright sunlight, instead of a gray drizzly day. He said "The best is yet to come". And you know what? I believed him. He did it again. I don't care how old you are, or how scared you are, or how sad you are, or how bad it's been, it CAN get better and there is always hope. So I am sharing that with you, and wanted to remind you of it. I needed the reminder too. I felt as though I'd been lifted up when I read it, and was almost saying to myself "Yes…..that's right!!!…." So now I'm telling you, the best is yet to come. I believe it, and I hope you do too. It helps hearing it, and remembering it, even in tough times…..the best is yet to come!!!

Love, Danielle