{"id":1680,"date":"2024-06-20T16:24:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T20:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/positivepensees\/?p=1680"},"modified":"2024-06-20T16:34:51","modified_gmt":"2024-06-20T20:34:51","slug":"life-has-choices-destruction-definition-and-strength","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/positivepensees\/2024\/06\/life-has-choices-destruction-definition-and-strength\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Has Choices. Destruction. Definition and Strength."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/a>

Image Courtesy of Canva Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u201cWhen something bad happens, you have three choices.\u00a0 You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\nDr. Suess<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n**<\/h2>\n** Life is all about choices.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n****** ** We have been gifted with free will.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** Life is also about circumstances that will test that will.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** When something adverse comes your way what will you let that situation convey?<\/span><\/p>\n ** Will you muster the strength to rise above and mount up on wings like the majestic eagles that sail above?<\/span><\/p>\n ** Will you let it destroy and crush your spirit and your ability to forgive?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** Will you let the moment define you and crush your will?<\/span><\/p>\n ** Life is all about choices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** Those choices can be summed up in a bundle of three.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** ******Let the situation define you, or destroy you, or gloriously strengthen you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a> Image Courtesy of Canva Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nForgiveness is Strength. Unforgiveness Destroys from Within<\/strong><\/h2>\n******** ** ********Being a mother of six is always interesting.\u00a0 Particularly to girls.\u00a0 Everyone\u2019s perspective is different about raising kids.\u00a0 I once told a friend, \u201cBoys are easy, girls are hard to raise!\u201d\u00a0 She completely disagreed with me, she thought boys were the pain and girls were angels.\u00a0 One of my daughter\u2019s recently went through a particularly painful break-up.\u00a0 The weeping and gnashing and renting of garments was acute.\u00a0 The moping and grief food abounded.\u00a0 Ice cream and ribs topped her list. She just could not understand why life had handed her such a painful card.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll never love again!\u201d\u00a0 This was one of the many phrases I heard during those first painful days.\u00a0 My mother\u2019s heart did feel for her. As my husband and I watched her suffer the grief of her first serious break-up, he gave her some very wise words.\u00a0 He told her that for forty-eight hours she could wallow, grieve, eat all the grief food she wanted, cry, scream, curse the sky and wonder what could have been different, but after that, she needed to make the choice to learn from the situation and what could strengthen her. The feelings will still be there for some time, but you are choosing to get up and choose strength.\u00a0 Choose to learn, choose to forgive the person no matter how hard because that forgiveness is for you.\u00a0 Not them.\u00a0 Forgiveness is strength.\u00a0 Unforgiveness destroys from within.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n**** History can Teach us to Forgive Through Other\u2019s Example<\/h2>\n One subject that is quite fascinating in our family is people who have served the United States in some capacity whether it is a Senator, a House of Representatives member or President.\u00a0 One such interest amongst our family is that of the late John McCain<\/a>.\u00a0 He was most definitely an interesting and varied figure.\u00a0 The most notable portion of his life was his time as a prisoner of war during Vietnam<\/a>.\u00a0 He flew many combat missions during this bloody war as a Naval Aviator<\/a>.\u00a0 One mission he was shot down, he fractured several portions of his body\u00a0 from the ejection of the aircraft, he almost drowned and he was captured by the enemy.\u00a0 During that capture, his shoulder was crushed and to top it off he was bayoneted by the enemy.\u00a0 He received no care and was taken to a Hanoi prison where he was beaten and tortured.\u00a0 Only after the enemy realized that he was the son of an Admiral did he receive minimal care.\u00a0 After more torture, he was put into solitary confinement for two years.\u00a0 Can you imagine?\u00a0 Never talking to a soul?\u00a0 Alone with your thoughts for two whole years?\u00a0 McCain was given favor because of his father\u2019s position.\u00a0 He refused the favor unless his fellow prisoners were released.\u00a0 After this the abuse and torture escalated, he was bound for several hours at a time and beaten.\u00a0 He suffered from dysentery.\u00a0 You would think at this point he would have given up.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n <\/a> Image Courtesy of Canva Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nMcCain Walked Through the Fire<\/h2>\n************ ** ************McCain did reach a low point.\u00a0 He did consider suicide but the enemy stopped him.\u00a0 In one last act of desperation, he released an anti-US statement.\u00a0 In later years, he confessed that was one of his greatest regrets.\u00a0 After a renewed sense of fortitude, he started to refuse to give any other anti-US statements.\u00a0 This earned him three beatings a day.\u00a0 Yet he did not give in.\u00a0 After over five years of captivity, he was released to go home.\u00a0 We can only imagine the pain that he felt both in his soul, spirit and not to mention his body.\u00a0 Because of his injuries, he was never able to raise his arms above his head again.\u00a0 Yet he returned to serve in the Navy.\u00a0 Later he had a pretty extensive political career.\u00a0 During the time when the US was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, he had a pretty strong opinions concerning how prisoners of war were treated in the US custody as enemies.\u00a0 He knew that most likely the people that were captured probably did some pretty evil things, but his experiences those decades before molded how he thought prisoners should be treated.\u00a0 I would wager to say,with all of McCain\u2019s foibles in his life, he chose to not let the situation he so bravely endured define him.\u00a0 Nor did he let the situation destroy him.\u00a0 He took the reins and let the situation strengthen him.\u00a0 Our lives will God willing, never come to this place of extreme severity but hopefully John McCain\u2019s lesson of the power of the human spirit can spur us on in a mindset of strength.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a> Image Courtesy of Canva Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nResilience is a Remarkable Ability<\/h2>\n**** As stated in the quote above. We have choices. There are times in life when it does not seem so. I understand. But if we take the words mentioned above. We can let our situations define us, destroy us or strengthen us. What is strength<\/a>? Strength denotes toughness, solidarity. A will of iron. This does not imply that we will not have to walk through the fire of life, but rather. We can walk through the fire knowing that we are not going to let the situation destroy us. The key behavior that we humans possess is the remarkable trait of resilience.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n We will feel let down; we will feel angry. But in Suess\u2019 wise words, we have the choice<\/a> to make after that. To be honest readers, I had lost sight of this saying in the last few months. I let grief consume me, bitterness had taken root. But in a moment of clarity, I realized I can choose to let it define me, destroy me, or strengthen me. So can you. As always, if you are depressed or down. Please find someone to talk to. Sometimes the salve of a listening ear can do much. Also, seek God in your personal way. I am reminded of God\u2019s peace<\/a> that he will give in our quest to seek him. May we find our resilience to face each day. Thank you, Mr. McCain, for your history, may his memory be a blessing.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWhen something bad happens, you have three choices.\u00a0 You can either let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.\u201d Dr. Suess Life is all about choices.\u00a0 We have been gifted with free will.\u00a0 Life is also about circumstances that will test that will.\u00a0 When something adverse comes your […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5517,"featured_media":1692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,36,296,18,60,332,54,287,347,69,72,66,30,401,266,75,63],"tags":[395,248,42,425,245,477],"class_list":["post-1680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bravery","category-brightsideoflife","category-courage","category-devotional","category-discipline","category-gratitude","category-heartwarming","category-hope","category-joy","category-meditate","category-pause","category-peace","category-positive-thinking","category-prayer","category-soul","category-stopping","category-trainyourmind","tag-forgiveness","tag-history","tag-joy","tag-life","tag-prayer","tag-resilience"],"yoast_head":"\nLife Has Choices. 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