"hard"

Life is hard.





Or is it?
Maybe life is just what we make it to be. Maybe we are too preoccupied with what we want or with what other people want from us to realize how easy life is. Or maybe how much easier life could be. This is not about saying that life is a breeze, but it is about saying that maybe life is not as difficult as we make it out to be.
Life might be a whole lot simpler if we just listened. If we listened not only with our ears, but also with our eyes, hearts, and feelings. I'm going to disregard the fact that many of you will have stopped reading the moment I mentioned listening with parts other than our ears. I know that it sounds all spacey, but it is so important. There is so much said without words. People can guard their words and pretend that they are okay, but body language will betray even the best actors. Maybe there would be less broken hearts and less hurt feelings if we listened, and I mean really listened, to the people and the world around us.
Life also may be simpler if we could let go of our notion of what is best. Do we really know what is best? Do we, who only see tomorrow, know what is best for the rest of our lives? Or should we trust the One who knows all, who saw us before we were born and the one who knows the plans he has for us. Life would be so much easier if we just trusted him. If we just allowed our plans to be his plans. If we let go of what we want, of what we think is right for us. There are decisions in life. And usually they are what makes life hard. These decisions do not need to cause us so much grief. No. We just need to remember that whatever decision we make, God will use it. He will use it to his glory. God delights in us. He even delights in our mistakes because he can use those mistakes to bring glory to his name. However, if we seek him out, if we seek God's will, he is faithful to guide us. And in his guidance, he guides our decisions.

If we learn to listen to those around us and we learn to listen and trust in our faithful God, life would be a whole lot less "hard".