Top Ten Things I've Learned This Year

1. When you need to be brave, you will be.  So don't waste time with worry when you don't have to.

2. Your worst fears can come hand in hand with your greatest blessings.  You'll be okay. God has a wonderful, mysterious plan.

3. Loving someone you've lost is time well spent.

4. There's more to life than what we see.

5. Love bridges the distance between earth and heaven, and connects the two with a strong and unbreakable bond. Maybe that sounds hokey...  I don't care.

6. You can't lose what you love.  Love will keep you close to the beloved through separation, distance, time, distraction, and the business of life lived apart. Love, indeed, never fails.

7. Pain is, at most, meant to be temporary. When pain comes, remember: Better things are always in store.

8. Even when you feel you're going to fall apart, you won't.

9. Happiness is not "owed" to us.  Neither is safety, comfort, or a long life. So rather than being angry in their absence, we owe gratitude in their presence.

10. Life involves some suffering and hard times. And that's okay. True joy is not diminished by hardship any more than the sun is diminished by clouds it will presently melt away.  Life is worth living.

And oh yes: there are better things to do than dishes. ;)

Happy fresh start, everyone.

Linked to Many Little Blessings