Sometimes in Life, Two Negatives Do Not Always Equal a Positive -- But That's Okay..

"But you belong to God, my children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world." - 1John 4.4

So throughout the past couple of months, I have learned that life is a pretty hard place -- It's not as soft as I thought it would be. Let's just say, it's been pretty easy until now. Being a live-in nanny you get the perks: you don't have to pay for rent, you have no bills, free food, and many others. Now, living on my own, life is hard especially when you want to keep up with your faith.. OKAY, OKAY I have an advantage with this one, I work at a Catholic school. But only 8hrs out of the day is spent there, and let's just say teaching is not like a walk in Vatican City.

I know that I am preaching to the choir when I say this, I mean look at me -- early 20's, low starting salary, still not able to cook for one, and every $20 that I happen to come across I find it more beneficial to spend it on a night out than towards student loans. I GET IT!! But still, in order for this thing we call life to work, there's one person we need to put before all, the Lord. Yes, I said the Lord, not your landlord. (I'm funny, right?--haha)
Anyways, back to the topic of this hard life we are meant to get through. I'm not saying to spend that $20 on some nice tacos -- PLEASE, by all means, buy the taco. But while you are eating those $20 tacos, maybe spend 20 minutes praying. When you spend 45mins getting ready for that hot date, spend 45mins on the rosary. When you decide to stay out until 12am at that really nice bar with the really nice drinks and the very hot bartender, maybe you could at least make it to that 12pm mass that has the really funny priest and the nice lady that sits in the front pew.
I am not saying to change your life, but to improve it. We get dealt many negative cards throughout life -- too many to count. But sometimes, JUST SOMETIMES, a couple of our negative situations in life can turn out to be a very positive thing.

So GO on that date, GO out with your best friends, and GO spend $20 on a taco. Life has a lot of negatives to not do these positive things, but sometimes we need to remember where our positive situations come from in the first place. Bless the one who gives us those precious few things to be happy about!!

"You Will Never Run" - Rend Collective

-Erika

There are so many beautiful reasons to be Happy..

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." -Ephesians 4.2 

One thing that I have realized over the past years is that there are so many beautiful reasons to be happy. People come and go in your lifetime, and you have no control over it. I like to think of that as one of the many blessings that is placed among us all. 
This isn't a post like my other posts, but yet a piece of joy that I have found

comfort in recently. If you have kept up with some of my posts over the years, you would know how precious my relationship with my mom was, and how I cherish the few moments I have with my close family and friends. With everything that has happened, I thought it would be harder for me to open my heart & love again, but yet it's not. I have learned that this life has thrown many obstacles my way. If I choose to dodge every single one, what point do I even have running in the race of life at all? Sometimes we have to move, jump over, or even go through many obstacles that we confront. Whether those things are meant to be positives or negatives, it's something that we all have to endure one way or another.
One way that I look at it is that we have a choice; we can either laugh and enjoy the good times over the bad times, or regret the laughs that we didn't have while the going was good. So many times I think that I have to have this "perfect life" and everything has to be a specific way; but why? Why are we forced to live life one way or another? I see myself as a butterfly in people's lives. I come and go, but many times you don't know I'm there. I like that when you do notice me, I can put a smile on your face. And when I am away, I am a happy memory. Many times, we strive to always be liked and remembered, but sometimes we forget that life on this planet is soon going to end, and we don't decide when it does.

All I know is that I try to live by these few words of wisdom:
When there is a happy moment, smile.
When there is a funny moment, laugh.
When there is a sad moment, cry.
And when there is a sorrowful moment, pray. 

We don't choose the happy or sad moments in our lives, but we can choose how we deal with them. Whether I am a butterfly in your life who comes and go's, or just a happy memory, I hope I made you smile. I hope I made you laugh. And I hope that I encouraged you to pray. 

We don't get to choose the people that we meet in our lives, but yet we do get to choose how to make those moments count!!


-Erika