Monday, August 29, 2011

Celebrating Anniversaries....

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Everyone loves a celebration, whether it's a birthday, anniversary or especially something big like Christmas.  Those are just special times that make us feel good most of the time!  But it is only human nature for most people to also recognize the date of a time that was maybe not such a great time, such as the date someone died, a break-up date, etc.  Those are definitely not things we want to dwell on and celebrate, but oftentimes we'll notice that it passes through out mind that something significant happened on this date at some point in time.  For me today is one of those days.  It's not a happy celebration, but rather a day that brought me some hurt and heartbreak once upon a time.  Yet, I choose to celebrate this day! I know, I know... if it symbolizes a bad day, then what would I celebrate?!  So let me explain....


I celebrate that time has passed...that I can look back and remember every bit of that day, and I can remember feeling that perhaps I might actually stop breathing from the pain.  But I didn't!!  I'm still standing - and standing just fine!

I celebrate that I'm stronger.  There is always that fear or feeling that something bad will break us -- hurt us beyond repair.  But I can see that this bad thing made me look deeper within -- made me search for what I really believe in and who I really am.  And I have found this strong woman who can obviously go through some really deep hurts and come out stronger than ever!


I celebrate that I have a story - and that I can help others with what I have learned.  Too often we are tempted to feel ashamed of bad circumstances - or worse, ashamed when we have done something wrong ourselves.  But I choose to take those bad times in life and use them for some good.  I will let someone else know that I survived - that I found a way through - that God gave me strength beyond measure to handle pain that I thought would break me into a million pieces.  And if I can survive through the hurtful and sad times, then someone else can too.

I celebrate that I am not defeated - but that I have risen above and chosen to be a better person.  Yes - there is hurt, and there will be other hurts in this life.  But I pray that as I experience those tough times that I will remember that I am not alone -- God is always with me.  And He has given me friends to go through these times with me, but also He has given me strength to handle these times and the ability to grow from them.  I will not take these experiences for granted, or lock them away out of pride or embarrassment -- but I will learn lessons, and reach out to others with what I have been taught and hopefully help someone else survive through a hurt in their life.  

We don't always get to choose the circumstances that we are faced with in our lives... but we do always have a choice about how we reaction.