Sometimes Life is Hard...

Tap tap is this thing on?!!

Sometimes Life is Hard...

It's been forever since I have blogged; I seem to have forgotten how?!!  So many things in blogger have changed since I used to blog, and forget about me doing it on my phone or iPad.  I tried multiple times and it wouldn't work!!

Life has been crazy challenging in many different ways.  And, I am learning a lot.  Life is definitely a school.  A place where we learn and grow (if we allow it to let us).  And it seems the best, most effective method for learning and growth is through trials.  And one of the major ways that my trials have come is through the agency of others.  Though I have certainly made a lot of mistakes on my own.  It's been excruciatingly painful at times.  It's been a challenge to find joy and happiness while in the midst of the difficulties.

And certain trials and difficulties are more private than others.  It was not intended for everyone to know everything that we are facing or have faced.  But, if we can be vulnerable about our trials with safe people (not people who would gossip, or unfairly judge, we call those unsafe people).  Because there are so many "unsafe people" out there, we tend to keep our trials inside and don't expose them to the light, as a protection of sorts.  But, if we can get brave enough to start talking about our stories, then we can start to heal.  And, in the process we learn that others, and in some instances many others, are going through the same thing!  And, boom, instant friendship!  It has been such a blessing for me to read or listen to others who have shared their hard times.  It has helped me through some very heavy stuff, and it has helped me to not feel so alone in my own challenges.

Some people have a greater capacity to empathize than others.  And some people have a great capacity for empathy, but they just don't know what to say or do because they have never experienced this kind of trial, or that kind of trial before.  And, some people have very little ability to empathize, and mostly only know how to criticize.  And there are other people yet, who can't seem to offer any words, critical or otherwise, because they are in the thick of their own stuff and they are feeling too paralyzed.

I don't know how much blogging I will do here going forward.  But, I do know that the blogs I do from this point forward will be real.  (Not that I haven't been real in my past blogs, but from this point forward, they will be more real.)  I will not be hiding behind my mask or a facade.  Life isn't all butterflies and rainbows. And my house isn't always clean.  My marriage isn't perfect, and neither are my kids.  I am completely imperfect, and so is my life.  I am a sinner, I need the Atonement every day of my life! And my age is catching up with me, and I now have wrinkles on my face.  Although, there is still joy and laughter, yes!  And I hope there is much more of that in my future, and in your future!  And I trust that there will be.  But, just because life is tough, nobody likes a bunch of negativism either.  So, blogging through trials is like walking a tight rope. It's finding that balance of sharing the tough, without oversharing or sharing too much negative, and sharing the good while still be real and honest, and not misrepresenting.

Welcome to my Messy Life!