DISTRACTED!

Have you ever been going along and thinking everything was pretty good and BAM....Out of nowhere something happens to change things? It could be a phone call, an accident, another person, a tornado, or even just simply being sick. However, you are left to pick up the pieces and also left trying to figure out how you feel about things!

This is how my life has felt many, many times! Trial after trial! So many times I have been left trying to figure out how to cope and move forward past the pain of what life throws at you!  This last trial of the tornado really threw me for a loop! It changed our lifestyle, it changed our routines, it changed our living arrangements, it changed how we eat (meals out every single day), it changed almost everything!

After the initial shock and devastation of something to this extreme, the experiences of life and especially after tornado devastation you are left sorting out your emotions! Being a natural optimist, I figured that I would continue looking to the bright side of the situation.  I fought to see the positive in the whole situation. But I found that no matter how hard I tried, some days I could not pull it off. I could not find my smile. I would read my positive quotes, pray, say affirming statements, listen to music, read uplifting messages, etc. But some days NOTHING could get me up and NOTHING could stop the tears!

I realized that I wasn't feeling happy like my days usually were! I realized that I was DISTRACTED! I had been so thrown off of my regular, normal routine that I couldn't even figure out a new normal!

How many times has something happened in your day to DISTRACT you? Your day is going along JUST FINE and all of a sudden out of nowhere you are mad, sad, angry or feeling helpless all in a second. Of course what happens when you get distracted...normally your mood has a shift of some sort. So then you are not your normal self and you react differently to things, and you respond differently to people or your family. You are moody and everyone is asking what the heck is wrong with you! So you are not only distracted but then you have all these other things that happen as a result of you being distracted!

Even with my optimistic attitude I realized that this was a huge shift to go through! It took me back trying to figure out the basics of life! Where to live, what to eat, clothes to wear. Life is not normal and where do we go from here? I found happy spots in every day and looked to bright side always but every night for about 2 weeks the tears would just stroll down my face! Wondering how it was going to all work out! Then I realized how many times I have been here before. Not from a tornado but just any trial. I remember another memory from awhile back going through a great day and receiving a phone call from someone that just totally took me by surprise and left me wondering what the heck just happened! Or when my children died. Or like yesterday, getting a call from the my bank fraud department that someone was trying to steal money from my account from another state(thank goodness they caught it) Or maybe an unhappy memory from your past creeps up that leaves you reliving things you don't need to! Those moments that bring you to your knees (well I hope that is where you go) Well, I have been on my knees. I have asked for help, I have asked for guidance. I was answered.

The answer I received in my heart goes like this.... "Heather, you are not looking out! You are Distracted!" It was that simple! My first thought was well of course I can't look out right now...I'm trying to figure out what can get our life back to normal or at  least a a new normal! Of course, I'm distracted right now! So i took yet another day wondering why I couldn't get back to that JOY I always find in any situation. Not that my days weren't happy or that I couldn't find things to be happy about but why I had to work so hard to be happy! I didn't feel like myself! I am usually naturally happy and I wasn't feeling it through my days! I was actually feeling lonely and down! I was distracted even from the things that I used to do to create happiness and JOY for me personally! You see, even though I had to figure out a new normal for my family I wasn't spending my days reaching out to people, making my daily calls to brighten someones day, sending messages to people that pop up on in my mind and acting on my promptings. Because of the tornado I was forced to look inward for awhile and figure things out but I was so distracted that I had forgotten to reach out to others. That is where my JOY comes...and JOY will ALWAYS COME FROM.

So I had the chance to make some phone calls and send messages to a few people that have been on my mind! I acted on my promptings instead of being so consumed with what I am going through! And I realized what the truest meaning of DISTRACTED meant! Of course Satan wants you to be DISTRACTED...because that is when you are off your game. That is when you feel insecure. That is when you feel vulnerable to emotion or bad eating habits. That is when you feel lazy. That is when you feel like not getting done all that you need to get done. That is when you feel like giving up. That is when you want say things that you don't mean. That is when you forget to have faith and let the trial takes its natural course. That is when you forget to feel grateful for the blessings in the trial and focus only on the trial. That is when you react instead of being reasonable. Any number of things can happen when you are DISTRACTED! So the next time that you feel DISTRACTED and like you are not feeling like your normal self then you PROBABLY NEED TO LOOK UP AND OUT! Say Thank you about your blessings. Serve someone, act on a prompting to brighten someones day! I had the chance to buy flowers for a couple of people that have gone out of their way to think of me daily and IT FELT GOOD! Then last night I had the chance to have my SEEDS OF SUCCESS Scentsy meeting and IT FELT GOOD! Anytime you are looking out and doing for others....IT'S GONNA FEEL GOOD!

So no matter what comes your way to distract you...even if its someone that cuts you off on the highway or you feel unfairly treated or you get hit by a tornado....REMEMBER TO LOOK OUTWARD NO MATTER WHAT AND YOU WILL EXPERIENCE THE JOY THROUGH THE TRIAL THAT YOU ARE MEANT TO FEEL!

Find the JOY in LOOKING OUTWARD to others even when life makes you feel like you can't. No matter what you are feeling  from your trial it will make you FEEL GOOD to reach out and to serve or to do for another instead of focusing on what is causing your trial or pain!