Dear Life,

Growing up is not always easy. Being an adult, accepting responsibility and acting maturely is not what I always want. It’s rarely the easiest thing to do in any given situation.

Maybe I spent the better portion of my adolescents and young adulthood escaping responsibility, but I’ve found that a huge part of my growing process has come with the realization that I am solely responsible for my happiness and for my reactions to situations. It is up to me to process and respond to circumstances that are unpleasant and it is up to me to make decisions that will bring me success and joy.

Becoming the kind of person that I want to be is a bit of a learning process. Every time I feel like I’ve figured something out, you my dear life throw me another curveball and I find myself standing at the plate baffled at the pitch after I swung and missed.  

With this process, I hope that those around me are willing to employ the great gift of grace toward me, a certain amount of forgiveness and a lot of love. I sure hope that this gift is something that I am ALWAYS willing to share with those around me.

I find that I get frustrated with those around me that aren’t embarking down the road I’m on with me, that they too are not striving to become the same kind of person I want to become, or perhaps they aren’t sure what kind of person they would like to become so rather than become they stay at the same stage.

I had an awakening, curveball type of experience today that showed me I need to be careful with the expectations I hold those around me to. I need to be quick to forgive and slow to anger, quick to understand and slow to pass judgment.

Just do me this favor today, be quick to forgive, even if it is not completely deserved. Just give someone a break today, because they’re just trying to figure it out too.