Thank you for the tears

I was driving to work today and started thinking about where I am in my life.  I have a ways to drive to work and so this is when I get most of my thinking done.  :)  Random things will pop into my head or I'll go down the mental list of errands I need to get done.  But today I thought about how my life has turned out and how I got to where I am.  How I became the person I am today.  And I thought about everything that has happened in my life to lead in this direction.  And as much as I am thankful for all the wonderful things in my life, I am also thankful for all the terrible things to.  I am thankful for all the tears I've shed over the situations in my life that caused me pain.

I am thankful for the tears that were shed over losing a friend.  It helped me to understand what a true friend is.

I am thankful for the tears that came when I lost my Grandfather.  I learned to love my family more because you never know when they might be gone.

I am thankful for the tears that fell when a relationship was over.  If those relationships did not end I would not be with the one I love.

I am thankful for the tears that wet my face when I watched a loved one go through I hard time.  I learned to be able to be strong for others.  And be there for them when they needed a shoulder.

I am thankful for the tears that dropped when I was upset at myself for not doing something right.  But, learned to dry them when I overcame those obstacles.

For all the hard times in my life, I am thankful for them.  Because without those times I wouldn't be where I am.  If my life had taken a turn in a different direction or I had given up I wouldn't be here enjoying what I have now.  I have a wonderful family, a love in my faith, and a strength in myself in knowing that I've made it through.

So when something comes around that makes me cry or gives me pain, I know that it will be better.  Going through those times helps us to understand the joy in life.  Without one you don't have the other.

No matter what you go through in life you can learn something.  You can turn the negative into a positive.  So when you shed another tear just remember. . . The tears that fall, will give you strength to get through the next tears that fall.