Today we have Autumn from Autumn Asks Why guest posting today - it is such a great post and I think we can all learn from it and/or take something away from this post.
What could be more exciting than embracing life? Truly, if you do so it’s a great ride.
My grandfather lived through the depression and was career military and a war vet. He had a wonderful outlook on life and it came across on those times I was lucky enough to visit with him. Love life. Be honorable. Live every day. Be HERE now.
My father was also career military. We traveled and lived all over the states and overseas also. I learned much. I experienced much. And at 10 years of age I discovered the camera. And it was in that time frame that I really began to embrace life. (Even though I was painfully shy and did most embracing within my family and travels.)
Then I married career military. I mean, what did you expect? How could I possibly stay in one place? There was too much to see. Too many places to travel to. Too much life to live. I had so much more I wanted to embrace!
And all these years that’s what I have done. Place after place. Time after time. Move after move.
And all these places I’ve made friends or just been an observer of others. And I have always been astounded and saddened by those that do NOT embrace life. Those that worry about what others will think. Those paralyzed by the thought of stepping off the path their friends are walking. Those ruled by popular opinion, keeping up with the Jones and outward appearances.
What a waste of time and energy. And talk about being untrue to yourself. That’s not what I would call embracing…its enslaving.
But right now we are in a very unstable place. After 26 years my husband finally retired from the military. And the jobs he had a pick of? Well, they disappeared with the latest budget cuts.
We are jobless. We are far from all family. And we have two girls that just don’t get the fact that we have less money coming in than going out.
So you could say there isn’t much to embrace in my life right now.
But I disagree. I’m not living in fear. I know God has a plan whether I can understand it or not. I don’t curse him or blame him or reject our situation. Don’t get me wrong … I am in no way rejoicing in our situation. After all, I can’t do anything but sit around the house pretty much right now. Our savings are draining away at an alarming rate. Our last paycheck is mysteriously missing and after a month and a half the military still hasn’t fixed the problem and doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to do so.
But still, I consider myself as embracing my life. It’s a very different embracing than it has ever been before. It’s a very quiet embrace. But it is still my life. It is still a new day EVERY day.
It’s still worth embracing.
I embrace the time at home with my husband. The husband who spent more time in the desert than with his family for years and years as he served his country.
I embrace the time at home in the quiet. The time I am not running around doing a thousand things and wasting money on little luxuries.
I embrace the downsizing of possessions – that brings in a little more money for our next meal.
I embrace doing our clothes shopping at the thrift stores. It’s like a treasure hunt every time. And my girls are learning skills in looking over things and really making sure they want to spend their money on an item.
I embrace the challenge of spending as little as possible on groceries and still eating a balanced meal. This is a skill I used to use to make it paycheck to paycheck…but haven’t needed for years. We are rediscovering some old favorites and exploring new recipes to add new dishes to our diet.
I embrace the unknown and am excited about what is to come. Where will we end up? What’s around the next bend?
Don’t forget that all life is worth embracing. Even if you can’t see it today…just maybe tomorrow…..
Especially if you go looking for it.
Even if it’s a very quiet embrace.
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