Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. I had an awesome one with the birth of my new daughter Joss Errin Cortez. She was born 11/21/2010 at 12:10 am and weighed 8lb 3 oz and was 20 inches long. I remember when Ayla was born, the excitement and fear of something completely new. With Joss is was less fear of the unknown and pure excitement of seeing her grow as we have seen Ayla. This time around I am less stressed with the diaper changes or the crying (still stressful, but not as much).
Such is life. The more you do something the less scary or stressful it becomes. Maybe it’s not that the stress and fear aren’t there, it’s that how you handle it and the meaning you assign to it changes.
As I write this I am standing in front of a house I’m remodeling to sell or move into, which ever happens first. I have done this before and been in this situation previously, with a major project and not sure of our future living situation. When Ayla was born two and half years ago my wife and I had just finished building a house and were waiting for ours to sell. Our current house didn’t so we rented out the newly built one. Now a very similar situation. The difference is that we both are less worried about things and are taking them in stride.
Throughout your life you will find moments and circumstances that appear bigger than you can handle and cause great stress. It’s in those times you need to look back on your life and remember how much you have overcome. What previous situation reminds you of where you are now? How did you handle it then? How are you better prepared now? What have you learned that can help you more easily overcome your current problem?
The greatest lessons in life come from your struggles. This is why in the book of James its says to see struggles as joy. The joy is not in the moment of the struggle, but in who you become because of it. I hope that the struggles you have today whether large or small become building blocks for a better you.
It’s a blessed life,
Joseph
Pictures of Joss coming soon.
Joseph Cortez 