Life is what we make it

Life is what we make it. Always has been, always will be.

During my 3 degree year one of my mentors at the Academy taught me an important fact of life…shit happens.  And you know what, he was right.  You can’t change the past.  You can wish is went a different way, you can sit and dwell upon it, but in the end, it happened the way it happened, and you made the decisions that you made, as bad or as good as they were. 

This past year I made a lot of really great decisions but along with the good, I sure made some bad ones.  I caused a lot of stress in life, I hurt some people that mean the world to me, and I made some pretty life altering decisions for not only myself but for other people as well.  I discovered the strength of some friendships, and lost others and learned a hell of a lot from it all. I’m very sorry to those I hurt and I wish I could take any pain or stress I may have caused away. I’m also very thankful for those whom have been there all the way through, you mean the world to me.

You often read stories about people who faced diversity in life and made the right decisions when pushed to the limit.  Well, have you ever read about people who when faced with tough decisions makes the wrong choice? Probably not! I feel that there is a reason for this.  If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. I’m a firm believer that everything happens in life for a reason.  And as I look back at my worst decisions in life they have actually turned out to be my best.

We have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day. Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. Our attitude is everything. The past shapes our future, but our attitude is the deciding factor in how our future will turn out to be.  So as I look back on this year, I have faith that all those regrets I hold right now will actually turn out to be into praises in the future.

I realize this year that I also have strayed away from God.  That’s something that I know is the cause of a lot of the things I regret from this year.  However, You can at any time decide to alter the course of your life; no one can take that away. I feel so blessed that God sent his son to purify us from our sins. I know that I have sinned but that I am saved purely because of Jesus. And though many at this moment choose to scorn or judge me, or my choices, or my marriage, or my career, or my life based on some of the bad decisions that I have made in the past so, He That Is Without Sin Among You, Let Him First Cast a Stone.  I realized I’m so worn down from trying to please everyone, and caring about what other people think of me and my life.  That’s not me. That’s not who I want to be and it’s taken me a very long time to figure that out. 
Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. – Proverbs 16:3

2011 was life changing and left me with a new life and new adventures to begin.  I am thankful for what God has given me, both good and bad, because of what I have learned from it all. I know that this next year will come with many changes that simplify my life and hopefully put me on a path that best serves the Lord.  

Love absolutely everything that ever happens in your life.
-Paul Cantalupo