Lessons From A Blog

This morning Belky asked me to read a post from one of her friends' blogs. As I read it, I understood why Belky wanted to share it with me. I think her friend was inspired and I thought you might enjoy reading it also:

Things happen for a reason…
Posted on June 28, 2011 by mariacmc

…At least, that’s what I like to believe! These past three weeks have been rough, and most of the time, I’ve been thinking about the lessons I need to be learning from this experience – or should have learnt before, so I wouldn’t need a car hitting me to learn them!
The stop sign design currently used in English...

All because of an ignored stop sign!

First lesson, rules are there to be followed. I am one of those people who likes to break the rules every now and then. I don’t consider myself rebellious, but I am not a conformist either. If a rule doesn’t make sense to me, and I won’t hurt anyone by breaking it, I probably will if the occasion arises. I’m not saying I am right or that I should do so, but I do. However, I also know that some rules shouldn’t be broken, such as running a stop sign! I enjoy driving fast – but I never forget that I am not the only one on the road, so it really made me angry when I got hurt because someone else was not paying attention and decided to break a rule that shouldn’t be broken.

Second, I cannot control my life. I am not in charge of my routine. I cannot ensure my to-do list will be checked off. Getting hit by a car two days before the end of the school year taught me and/or reminded me of the above. On the bag I was carrying when the accident happened, I had a bullet list with at least 30 items that “needed” done before leaving the Kingdom for the summer. It was divided into three sections, and next to each item, I had a day for when the item needed to be checked off. Well, it shouldn’t be a surprise when I tell you that things really didn’t happen the way I had planned them. Not even half of the list got checked off before I left, but: the school year still ended, children got their portfolios and picture cds, my classroom got packed and moved, my suitcase was packed and the house cleaned and closed enough for two weeks. Life didn’t end when I lost control of when things would occur.

Third lesson learned, needs and wants are not only two different things but one item may jump from one category to the next as circumstances change. I “needed” to clean my closet before leaving. I “needed” to organize documents before closing the house. I “needed” to check the portfolios and organize my personal items before the last day of school… Well, none of those happened, and the world didn’t come to an end. So, I guess those weren’t really needs but wants.

Fourth and final lesson (at least for now!), I am not the only one who feels satisfied after helping someone else. Therefore, I shouldn’t stop other people from having the blessing of helping others – even if that “other” is me, or especially if it is me! Asking or accepting help has never been easy for me. I am not even talking about big things, like having someone take me to the airport at 4:00am or getting someone to watch my pet while I’m gone, or calling someone to come to the middle of nowhere and help me start my car – no, I’m talking about little things like allowing someone to help me finish cooking, or saying yes to someone bringing dessert instead of having to make the whole meal myself. So, when I have to ask someone to help me pack my classroom or pick me up at home, take me to work, take me to the doctor, take me back home, cook dinner, lift up suitcases, etc… I cringe inside – I feel useless and get mad. I guess, I am still learning this lesson…

So, even though I am quite uncomfortable, in pain, and not operating at 100%, I am enjoying life. I am surrounded by my family and friends, I’ve visited amazing places in the past few days, enjoyed scrumptious meals, received many hugs, and been reminded of a few lessons I needed to remember. Having to schedule my “fun time” around my visits to doctors and therapists was not on my list, but I am determined not to allow this inconvenience ruin my time at home. God’s plans are not my plans, but I believe He knows best – I just have to hope, I learn my lessons the first time around next time!