Appreciating the Good Times

I've recently discovered how important it is to celebrate and appreciate the good times in life, how vital it is to stop and smell the roses. Unfortunately I only received this revelation after I went through a really difficult time. I can't help but think that if I'd only listened to my parents and learnt to rejoice in the good times maybe I wouldn't be where I am today. What I would give to return to the good times and live them out with the knowledge that I have now. Why then didn't I listen to my parents? Why couldn't I see the wisdom in their words? What's so special about going through difficult times, and how does going through difficult times make me appreciate the good times? I now find myself having to admit that I didn't listen to my parents because I couldn't foresee the consequences of my actions, and I couldn't see the wisdom in their words because I'd never experienced those consequences. Experience is my teacher and experience has taught me well. It is this experience that encourages me to make a change, to grow, to mature. It also allows me to stop and reflect on where I've been and where I'm going. Finally, experience eradicates denial and reaffirms reality. Although learning through experience is painful, I believe is necessary if I'm to continue in my journey to become the person Jesus is calling me to be.

Life isn't fair, it's sad but it's true, and as a result I'm going to go through tough times, and it's through these times that I grow. Even though difficult times are just that, difficult, they are also times to be glad because I'm growing, and thus I'm becoming the person Jesus is calling me to be. I've learnt that to truly appreciate and celebrate the good times in life I've needed to have let the difficult times grow and shape me. In other words, I need to mature and grow through the negative in order to truly appreciate and celebrate the positive. It's only as I continue to grow in Jesus that I begin to find myself both celebrating and appreciating in more and more good times both by myself and with others, and that in turn makes life more satisfying. Who could not celebrate every living moment if they knew that even through the difficult times they were becoming more and more the person Jesus is calling them to be?
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