When They Laugh At You

I have read some things lately from some loved ones that I wish I could address directly to their heart.

I learned a long time ago that I can’t make someone else understand something or give them peace about life.

But here is just some helpful life things I’ve learned in big ways and in small ways:
– People will always laugh at you. People will always laugh at me – strangers, acquaintances, people I don’t care for, people I do care for, people I don’t trust, and people that I do trust. It doesn’t matter. People will always laugh at you dreams, your plans, and your goals. The good news is that their opinions ultimately do not matter. What matters is your heart and if you believe in your dreams, your plans, and your goals. You do not need a cheering crowd. And most of the time you won’t have one in life. Keep going anyway.
– People never understand you the way you want them to. They do not think or feel or love the way that you do. And that is ok! But you have to remember that what they are giving you, may be the best they have. You have no right to judge their best, or their worse. It will hurt you. You will get hurt. I’ve gotten hurt. But, most of the time, I have found that I am the cause of that hurt; because I wanted something from others that they did not have to give. It doesn’t make them bad. It makes them people, and all people have broken pieces.
– It sure helps to have faith. I would not be who I am or where I am today if I didn’t believe with my whole heart that God is real. The Bible holds the promises of peace, understanding, love, forgiveness, compassion, and inclusion that we seek from this world. The world may not have those things to give, but God does. Mentally, it may not make sense. But it makes sense to my heart, and that is enough; and has been enough for my time on this planet to greater levels than I could have ever thought possible.
– Again, and I can’t stress this enough; do not put so much stock in to what other people think! I remember when I was pregnant with my first child and another woman laughed at me. Seriously, laughed in my face, when I said I wasn’t going to have drugs during childbirth. She said there was no way I could do it. What she said did not matter. Her laughter at me, like I was a fool, did not matter. I knew what I wanted. I knew it would be hard. But guess what, I did it four times. If you know what you want and you know what it will take to get there; what would any one else’s opinion possibly matter to this equation?

Tonight I am thankful for a few things. 1) I was blessed to be raised by a woman who instilled the things above in to me. And 2) I was also naturally programmed to be a stubborn person when I think something is the right thing 😉 Just ask the woman referenced in the first point of this paragraph! Mostly 3) I am thankful for peace and understanding that I could have never gotten on my own. I am thankful for God’s love and peace . . . my own love and peace really couldn’t have held a candle to the amount of these things needed in life!