I have found that during times of great despair, when I feel that all hope is lost, when my faith has left me, that giving my love and compassion to others restores my spirits and provides me with a sense of emotional stability.

In the past, I often became so entangled in my own problems, so obsessed with my own pain, my own struggles, that I did not stop to look and see how others could benefit from what I had been given throughout my life.

I have been blessed with many gifts.

If I choose to dwell in my pain, if I choose to live in despair, I am not walking the spiritual path my Higher Power has planned for me.

By showing compassion,

Passing on knowledge to others,

And giving of myself,

I am choosing to walk in hope.

I am choosing to embrace faith,

And I am helping others to move forward on their spiritual paths and out of their own despair.

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“Dear God, help me to be compassionate to others. Help me to share my experience, strength and hope with those in need.”

In the past, I often wanted to talk things through until I felt there was a resolution.

But the truth is… often things cannot be resolved within one conversation or within a given time frame.

I always thought that silence was a sign that someone didn’t care enough about me to “battle” it  through.

I felt that silence was a sign that my feelings and thoughts were not worth talking about.

It seemed a punishment, a way to stonewall.

Today I know that silence is often the best choice when a situation is heated, or dismaying, and that time, and space often does bring a calmer conversation.

I have learned that when I hold my tongue, and wait, that often problems that seemed so looming and large are answered by just being quiet and letting things be.

If I catch myself trying to explain, trying to reason, trying to make a point, and yet not being understood… maybe it is time to take a step back, be silent, and allow the conversation to cool before approaching the topic again.

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“Dear God, help me to remain calm. Help me to use silence to soothe a troubled moment instead of using words to fan the fire.”

During my divorce, I often found myself overly tired.

I was emotionally wounded and worn.

I was constantly distracting myself with activities to keep my mind from lingering in pain and despair.

It felt as if I was swimming against the current and exhausted from the effort.

Today, when I feel overtaxed, it is time for me to stop and look at what I need to do to allow myself to rest and recover.

It is not being selfish if I need to take a step back and take care of myself.

I can keep my current commitments, finish out my tasks, then clear my calendar and take the time to fulfill my own needs.

I am no good to others if I cannot manage to take the time to care for myself.

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“Dear God, help me to put first things first. Help me to do what I need to do to be the best person that I can be today.”

It has never been easy for me to surrender my will to my Higher Power.

To this day, it is still a struggle to get out of my own way when I find myself emotionally attached to a specific person or problem.

But the difference is that today, after many years of spiritual footwork, I now see the signs of my need to control and quickly, although often reluctantly, pray to my Higher Power and give in.

“Giving in” to me in the past meant that I must be weak, I must be “giving up.”

Always the fighter, I thought that with all my “infinite knowledge and self-will” I must be able to force the solution I thought best not only for myself, but everyone else involved!

It is hard to detach when we are emotionally chained by love, lust, anger, frustration, pain or despair.

But without surrender, I find that I lose my way, I feel out of sorts, off my spiritual path, and today, those are signs that I must give that person, or that problem over to the care of God.

Today, I chose to surrender to my Higher Power’s will.

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“Dear God, help me to give in without giving up. Help me to walk my spiritual path, completing the footwork that is necessary for my growth, while trusting that you are guiding me where I need to be.”

Every so often I am reminded of my former marriage and life by friends through social networks that contain posts, texts, conversations, stories, or photographs.

Usually, I can look at the world I am no longer a part of… an accept it for what it is… and know that I made the right choice by moving on and creating a new life.

But sometimes, I find myself becoming overwhelmed with emotion and my heart feels like it is being “left out.”

I feel like I am now no longer… part of the group.

In the past when I felt these feelings, I would be unable to shake it, to progress past that moment in my day, and flustered and unsettled, I would end up letting my emotions ruin my serenity.

Today, after years of spiritual footwork, I am able to take a moment, allow myself to feel these feelings, and then make a running inventory of all the positive reasons I choose to no longer be part of that lifestyle… that world.

Feelings are just that… feelings.

They are not facts.

The fact is that I no longer want to live a lifestyle that does not fit my spiritual path.

I may have moments of regret, or emotion, but they will be fleeting and minor if I focus on the choices I made for my greater good.

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“Dear God, help me to put ego aside and move forward and away from a past that no longer aligns with my spiritual foundation.”

One of my favorite childhood writers, Lucy Maud Montgomery, once wrote, “Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.”

I have remembered that line throughout my life, long now into my adulthood and loved the beauty and simplicity of the statement.

It reminds me that when I have a bad day, when I feel that I have failed, when I wish I had made better choices, that if I truly want to make a fresh start tomorrow… I will have one.

I like knowing that I can make a new resolution on any day of the year.

I like knowing that I can choose to be a better person on any given day.

When my heart is heavy with the choices I have made, it gives me hope to know that I can turn things around at any time with resolution, effort, and faith.

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“Dear God, help me to have faith when I feel that I have failed. Help me to be resolved to try each day to be the best I can be.”

Once, several years ago, I was sitting with a group of friends when we began talking about God.

One of my friends said, “Would you rather be God or trust in God’s plan?”

Everyone went around the circle saying how they would rather trust God, believe their Higher Power had things in hand, that they found peace in letting things work out on “God’s time” until the conversation stopped at me.

I was amazed at them all and said, “I would rather be God.”

Of course they looked at me like I had lost my mind until I explained my reasoning.

“If I was God, then I could stop my loved ones from suffering the consequences of any of their negative actions. I could walk through life without seeing any of the people I love get hurt, or make poor choices.”

For a moment everyone was quiet, as they acknowledged my point of view.

It has always been hard for me, to watch those I love make serious mistakes that lead to hard consequences.

But I know today, that hard consequences often lead to true spiritual growth.

Some lessons that need to be learned are not positive ones.

Some poor behaviors need to be repeated until, exhausted, we are willing to change.

When I find myself wanting to be God instead of accepting God’s will, I know that I must pray for faith, and pray that my loved ones find guidance on their own spiritual paths.

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“Dear God, help me to have faith. Help me to remember that I am powerless over the actions of others and that I must trust in your plan for each and everyone of us.”

I found that during my divorce, sharing my secrets, my truth with people I trusted, helped me to get through to the other side of my pain.

Holding pain in, being afraid to speak openly about my fear, hurt, or frustration, only left me feeling alone and overwhelmed.

When I share my heart, others will respond.

They are the beacons I must follow on my spiritual path.

They guide me through the dark, by sharing their own history, their own painful past, the times when they felt they could no longer move forward due to lack of faith and despair.

The people I love and trust with my deepest worries and fears, help to illuminate the light of what my future holds.

They are there to remind me that I am not alone and that a better life waits for me if I am willing to be brave enough to speak up and let their love and kindness heal my pain.

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“Dear God, help me to be brave. Help me to let go of my secrets and share my truth with those who love me and long to soothe my pain.”

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

It is easy to say… “I’m not going to let anyone or anything take my serenity away today” but the reality is… without daily spiritual connection… serenity becomes easy to lose.

Without quiet moments each day where I make the time to reflect on what I am grateful for, pray to my Higher Power for guidance, or calm my mind before reacting, I can find myself straying away from my spiritual path, and inviting chaos to take hold of my life.

Whatever spiritual routine I choose to follow, I must practice it each day.

In this way, I will learn not to allow serenity to be stolen from me by letting my mind become overwhelmed with life’s daily highs and lows.

“Dear God, help me to stay in gratitude, walk in faith, and trust your path for me.”

Over the course of my marriage, I often took on more activities then I should have to distract myself from my fears.

I was so overwhelmed with the reality of my life, the fact that things weren’t really working between my husband and myself, that I filled my time with endless occupations, afraid to face the truth.

Today, when I catch myself working to be too busy to think, I stop and I look at what is really going on.

It isn’t easy to face fear.

It isn’t easy to admit that life can be scary and out-of-control.

But, by looking at what I am really struggling with, I can begin to address my problems and move forward on my spiritual path.

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“Dear God, help me to trust in your plan. Help me to walk in faith instead of live in fear.”