nothing but sunshine and blue skies...

so today i was driving with my oldest when we got caught in an absolute torrential downpour. you know the kind, where it's raining so hard that even with the windshield wipers on full blast, you can barely see the road ahead of you. you're surrounded by darkness even in broad daylight because the clouds are so thick and heavy. in the middle of this downpour there were clouds (obviously) above us, but they were also behind us and to both sides. the interesting thing was that straight ahead of us there was nothing...not even one tiny cloud was visible in the perfectly blue sky ahead of us. so i thought of this...

Sitting under a cloud with a torrential downpour, straight ahead, not a cloud in sight...metaphor for life?

over the past while it seems like there have been so many dark clouds surrounding us and such a downpour that the road ahead was impossible to even catch a glimpse. i think that a lot of times it's mind over matter and our outlook can definitely change the way things look. you know, you have to choose to be happy, no one can make you happy, and all that jazz...

so i looked at that rain cloud as if it were the cloud over us that is finally dissipating, and up ahead there are no clouds in sight. isn't that amazing? i do believe that phrase in proverbs that says "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." if we think we are a failure, we will be a failure. if we think we're not good enough, we won't be. if we think we will always be poor, then that's how we'll stay. if we think we will succeed, prosper, and be blessed, then we will be. i have been working on changing my own point of view, to think about what i want to become compared to who i am, not worrying about things i can't control, and controlling what is in my own power to and that's about it. but i can also think about how good the future can be instead of dwelling on "how sucky it's been and probably will continue to be forever and ever".

as i continued to drive out of that downpour today, i emerged from under that cloud, refreshed and renewed from the rain, and looking forward to the excitement the future holds, and now...

Dark clouds behind us, nothing but sunshine and blue skies ahead!