As Time Goes By...We Find Strength

Where has the time gone?

I found myself pondering this question over and over these last few days, and couldn't help but notice the impact it was having on my mindset. As the anniversary of my fathers death approached, I became focused on the fact that time was whizzing by.

I was "shocked" that a year had passed so quickly, and found myself questioning where I was, and how I had gotten through it all. I was actually surprised that while things were different, everything was exactly as it should be, and I was at peace.

Have you ever done that? Have you ever looked back and been astonished that time didn't stand still, and that things just kept moving? Have you ever wondered how you made it through, or where you got the strength or courage to go on? Have you ever been surprised that you came out of a devastating event just a little stronger and more sure of yourself?

I think that anniversaries are like that. Whether it's the anniversary of your birth, your marriage or the death of a loved one, the reality is that life continues on, and anniversaries are the markers that lets us know that. Life doesn't stop just because you need it to, nor does it stop because it would be easier if things didn't change. It doesn't slow down because we're not ready to deal with what's around the next corner. Life continues on, and so do we.

The beautiful thing is that through it all, we keep going. We keep doing the next thing, and we survive. As you work through some of the most difficult times, you may be unsure of where the strength comes from, but it is there. A silent power that comes from within.

You learn a little more about who you are, and what you are capable of, and you go on.

You learn to stand again, differently but no less significant, and you go on. n
You learn to turn within and create something powerful, and you go on. n
You learn to cry tears of joy at the small steps forward, and you go on.

And most of all you learn that even when you don't know how you will survive, you learn that you have a courage and strength that wasn't there before, and you learn that you can go on.

So, on this anniversary, as I celebrate and remember, I thank my dad for giving me the strength to go on, and for believing in me more tha
I believed in myself.