When times are tough

The hardest part for a lot of people to do is to 'Let go and Let God'. Let life take its course because we cannot control everything that goes on in our lives. We never know what is going to happen because that plan is not up to us, so you must live your life to the fullest every single day. Life is short for so many and even shorter for others. Tell your family you love them every day. If you are leaving your house to go out, say 'I love you' instead of that snarky comment you want to say when you're mad at your parents and just want to leave the house already. You just do not know if you are going to make it back home safe and sound or that your loved ones will be waiting for you when you get back. Do not ever go to bed mad at your loved ones because again, you do not know if you or your loved one will wake up the next day. You do not want your potential last words to someone to be hateful or rude. Cherish every moment you get, even if you're stuck inside helping your mom do dishes because one day, you will wish she was still here with you. 

When times are tough, you must pick yourself up, dust off whatever got you down and keep on trucking through your life journey. Do not lose yourself in the midst of all the chaos. It is easy to do and it takes a while to come back from. Love yourself completely and unconditionally. My favorite quote is by Les Brown and he says, "If you fall, land on your back because if you can look up, you can get up." I heard Les Brown's speech back in 2013 and apply it to my life daily. I share this quote with all my friends when they are struggling because it just holds so much honesty and motivation in one short sentence. If you are looking at that light at the end of the tunnel, that should be your motivation to keep on going. Just keep swimming as Dory always says. I was at my leadership retreat in January when my Pastor said to us, "Your lows now are still higher than your highs in your past." Whether that be 3 months ago or years ago, you are still doing better now then you were a little while ago and that is because we learn from our mistakes and we continue to make new ones. We are on a constant roller coaster that keeps on moving upwards even when we fall for a bit; the roller coaster will go back up again. Your story is not over yet, keep on going.