A Steadfast Heart

We humans are born into this world with a longing to be in control.  It is hardwired into our genetic code.  We want to be the captain of our own ship, the play-write of our own story and the commander and chief of our own destiny.  

We wish for a charmed and easy life.  A beautiful home, an adoring family, a good-paying job that we love, health and long life...  It's the stuff our dreams are made of. 

How easy it is to forget that all the good stories, the ones we want to read over and over again, have their ups and downs.  The hero defeats the villain.  The heroin survives despite the staggering odds stacked against her.  Some of my personal favorites are those with tragic endings.

The trouble is that when we set out to write our own story, we don't want to include the seasons of hardship and uncertainty that are sure to come.  We pretend those things aren't going to happen.  The death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the doldrums of everyday life...   We want to believe that those things might happen to other people but surely not to us.

After all, we're writing our own story.

When we become parents we tell our kids to dream big.  Seize the day!  The world is your oyster.  Be your own man/woman.  You can have the life you've always dreamed of and be anything you want to be if you just work hard enough.  How many of us can remember hearing the same things from our own parents?

Sometimes things don't turn out quite the way we planned.  

As I get older, I am learning that real life is lived in the way that I respond to the ups and downs both big and small.  I don't want to be swept out of reality by the intoxicating highs, lulled to sleep by the normalcy of the day-to-day or dashed against the rocks by the terrifying lows.  I long for my heart to be steadfast and constant no matter what the season. 

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I am linking up with Just Write today. Stop by Heather's blog to read other posts or add one of your own.