O.K., God, I Hear You

I'm a sucker for inspirational quotes. I have them hanging in my office at work and at home. I have books of them. I like them because they remind me of what's important, what I should be focusing on. They remind me, on days when I'm wallowing in myself--like a lot of days recently--to snap out of it and take a look at the big picture. They help me keep this crazy life in perspective.

I'm also a believer that sometimes God speaks to us rather subtly. We just have to keep our eyes and ears open.

And recently that's what's been happening. Just when I've needed reassurance, inspiration, perspective, I keep finding it--in quotes, ads, billboards, sermons, everywhere. And they all seem to speak to whatever I need on that day, at that time, in that moment. For instance, last week as I was struggling with panic attacks and the overwhelming reality of how my life is changing, my sister, Beth, sent me this quote:

“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes, it is a quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow’.”

Or the other day I was surfing the Web, and as often happens when you're just following one link to the next, I found myself on this web site. I started looking around and found a shirt with the following saying:

"The journey is the destination."

I loved it. It spoke to me. I'm not even sure exactly why. Maybe it was because it seems my whole life has been about journeys--my journey as a woman, writer, mom, wife, MS patient.

My kids and I watched the movie Ramona and Beezus the other day featuring this song.

Or during the memorial service for a friend's mom this past weekend, the pastor said that what makes someone a hero is not that they aren't afraid, but that they go forward despite their fears. I don't remember the exact quote because I was in the back of church comforting Kacey, but I sure do remember the message. And it hit home.

This post on the blog Zen habits (not even sure how I ended up on that site--providence?), had the following sentence: "You already have everything you need to be happy, right here and right now."

Lately I've been inundated with signs and messages that everything is going to be O.K., that I'm stronger than I think, that this too shall pass. Every day I find that I'm learning something new, something profound. Sometimes I learn it from a friend, my kids, a quote--or a T shirt slogan. But they help, each in its own way. Thanks, God.