Some Friday Sunshine

The older I get, the more I feel like I know who I am...who I was put in this place to be.  Not so many years ago I remember the sour-faced girl I used to be.  Angry about something mostly all the time.  What's changed?  Now I'm so much older and wiser (said with my hoity toity face on)?  No.  But the older I get, the clearer it becomes to me that grace is a gift and happiness is a choice.  All the nice things about my life are gifts.  My husband that loves the Lord and me and our kids?  Gift.  My kids that are pretty amazing, if you ask me? Gifts.  The difficult times that we've had trying to figure out real life? Gifts.  Sometimes those gifts feel like those weird sweaters you get from some estranged family member at Christmas, but gifts nonetheless.  
Whether or not everything is going how I planned it at the moment or not, I can choose to take this one priceless life I have and enjoy it.  Happiness is a choice.  I get to make that choice.  And in doing that, I get to show the people around me (namely my kids) how to make that choice too.
A few weeks ago I had a run-in, shall we say, with a girl with a really angry face and a terrible attitude.  I saw so much of myself from fifteen years ago in her.  When I came away from that exchange with her (and once I got past wondering what in the world she had to be so angry about) I realized how relieved I was to be in a different place in my life.  Glad I went through that though...otherwise I'm not sure I'd have the sense to realize how much better it can be.  
You can have everything you think you want and be really unhappy.  You can have almost nothing and be really happy. 
Choose to see the good.  
Decide that your glass is half-full.  
Sally Sunshine I am not, but I am happy and I am thankful.