New math.  Common core.  Nobody understands it and there’s nothing common about it.  How long does it take four oranges to travel 212 miles at the speed of melting ice cream to reach California?  Draw the oranges and each mile.

The answer is purple.

math-purple

Although I understand the concept of comprehending the idea of how much numbers really mean, there is no reason to change an entire system to something that only confuses a numerical concept that kids (and their parents) already need to be less confusing.

It’s like life.  Often, we are confused by it.  Things happen that we don’t understand, for reasons we understand even less.  Sometimes God puts us through those times; sometimes He just lets us go through them.

It still sometimes feels like the answer is purple.

We lose loved ones and beloved pets due to illness or death.  Sometimes it takes us by surprise; sometimes we know they have suffered for awhile, but it doesn’t make the loss any easier to handle.

We lose significant others and spouses due to lies or betrayal and we lose the hope that the love that was shared could have grown, that the life that was promised would actually come to fruition…or that it ever will again.

We lose weight (usually that’s a good thing), but it takes a lot of effort and time to make it happen; we can’t just wish it off.  And sometimes it comes off when we least expect it, or it goes on the same way.  We just don’t know what’s going on sometimes.

From those deep losses, we gain pain.  That’s a natural response, it’s to be expected.  We can also gain fear.  We can be scared to go forward, to move on, to do more than just get through another day.  We can be scared to open up again, or try to fill the void, or think of a future with even a little bit of hope in it, or allow ourselves to be happy.

But we MUST plow forward.  “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound (calm and well-balanced) mind.” ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

Every day, there will be one less thing to cry about and one more thing to smile and, eventually, laugh about.  Focus on that one thing.  Even if it’s a cat video.  Those things are hilarious.

Loss, Gain, Reminder

Because we must remember that in addition to the losses and the pain and the fear, we also gain knowledge, growth, experience, lessons, wisdom, strength, new opportunities.  We gain the knowledge of the love and support that was out there the whole time from friends and family.  We gain the reminder that God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of balance.

Sometimes we need a reminder to remember what and who are truly important in our selves and in our lives.  This is your reminder.

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Becky is a single mom and a reluctant disciple, called to share her story with others in her own unconventional way.  She knows God will equip her for her journey, and does her best to trust in His plan for that journey, and not to judge others on their journeys – unless the waist of their pants is at their butt cheeks; then she thinks they should pull those puppies up.  Or if somebody says she eats too much chocolate; then she just can’t be friends with them anymore.  But she will pray for them.  Join her to discover how your plans and God’s plans come together in this life filled with groovy trails.