My sentiments last New Year’s Eve came from Dr. Seuss:
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
A lighthearted little quote intended for simple inspiration. A gentle nudge to begin day 1 of 365 with cheerful anticipation.
“Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
Those nine words flow effortlessly from the tongue of someone wrapping up an awesomely normal year. It’s easy to possess a positive outlook when your days have been [for the most part] easy. So I suppose the true test – the ultimate test – comes when life DOES make you cry. When you find yourself walking aimlessly through the valley of the shadow of death; when you are reminded – time and time again – the world is scary, unpredictable, and sometimes very, very ugly; when it’s impossible to concoct the right phrasing to describe your plethora of raw emotions.
Will optimism still win the day? Will you be able to muster the strength to smile the smile encouraged by Seuss?
I sure hope so.
Let’s face it, I never saw the foes (or woes) of 2015 lurking in the bushes. As in a great Survivor tribal council… I was blindsided. My half-full glass found itself bone dry many times this year. That “Go get ’em Tiger!” attitude I resolved to have came up a bit shorter than I’d like to admit. 2015 gave my heart a run for its money. Period.
But guess what? It gave me a heck of a lot of joy too. Blessing after abundant blessing. New memories. Laughter. Generous souls carrying the weight of my world when my tank was on E. Renewed hope. Love. Christopher. Brady Shae. Brooks. Gratitude for Heaven. Lots and lots and lots of reasons to smile.
The darkness has yet to figure out a way to overcome the light. Plain and simple.
So as the sun sets on another year, I will remember His mercies are new every morning. And if it’s OK with Dr. Seuss, I’d like to put my own spin on his quote:
“Let yourself cry because it’s over. Sad endings deserve tears. Your smile will return between the drops. I promise.”
May your 2016 be a Sweet ’16.