Heart and Soul

Recently I celebrated my 58^th birthday and by all accounts I guess that makes me pretty old. Okay, I admit it, I need glasses to read, I’ve got aches and pains on a regular basis, there are wrinkles in my face and my hair has turned gray around the temples. So yeah, I’m definitely old on the outside, but I don’t feel old on the inside...I feel extremely blessed! I recognize that even though my outer body may be breaking down over time, my inner heart and soul have been building up!

Let me explain….

 

On the morning of my 58^th birthday I took extra time to say my prayers.  I reflected on all that has happened in my life. (And since I’m plenty old I had plenty to reflect on it… so it took a while!) I thanked God for all the good times and the good things in my life; my wife, children, family and friends, plus my job, my home and my health. But I also thanked God for the tough times, the troubles and the problems because it was during those times in my life that I learned the most important lessons; how to cope, how to survive and how to have faith. It’s true that the bad times in our lives are the ones that shape us the most and define our character.

 

For example, when I was 19 years old, I was sure I was with the “love of my life”. I planned to marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after. We dated all through school and I thought we were both madly in love. So shortly after graduation I took all my savings from my part time jobs and bought her an engagement ring. I proposed, she said yes, and we made a plan to move to San Francisco where we could rent two rooms at my parent’s house and I could attend college. My parents were far from wealthy so I had to go to school during the day and then work two jobs at night just to make ends meet. It was a really hard schedule for me, but I thought I was in love and I was determined to make a life for us and eventually be able to get married and have our own home.

 

 

I had big dreams and lots of ambition, but I had no time to spend with my girlfriend. She quickly got bored, went back home to her wealthy parents and was married within six months to some rich guy. Needless to say I was heartbroken and devastated. The pain and loneliness I felt were more than I could bear at times, often making me cry and feel like a fool. It hurt so much I soon ended up dropping out of college and moving away. At the time I didn’t realize it, but that was the best thing that could have happened to me. She was not the right person for me because although she was attractive on the outside, she was definitely ugly on the inside. Over time I realized that I had learned two lessons from that painful experience 1) judge people by their inner heart not their outer beauty and 2) if you want to be loved, you must have a loving heart yourself.

 

Over the past 58 years I have experienced plenty of hard lessons in my life but the truth is....I’m grateful for every single one. I realize now that every difficult situation we encounter is really just God’s way to help us learn and grow on the inside. And while every tough lesson might give me another gray hair, it will also continue to make my heart and soul ever stronger!

 

Epilogue 1:    
My girlfriend from high school thought she was marrying a rich guy, but two years after they got married he was sent to prison for stealing from his company.

                        That’s karma baby!

 

Epilogue 2:    
I may have been dumped, but I ended up marrying a woman who is supremely beautiful on the outside and even more beautiful on the inside!

                          That’s double karma baby!

 

The real “love of my life” joins me for lunch!

As water reflects a face,

a man’s heart reflects the man.

                                ~ Proverbs 27:19