This

I listen to this song probably more than I should.  Easily three times a day.  I love it, for many reasons.  First, who doesn't love an attractive black man with a good voice?  I mean really, what's not to love?  Second, it encompasses my biggest goal: to be a wife and mother.  I like the idea that everything I am striving to become now is leading me toward that goal, no matter when it comes for me.  And third, it reflects an attitude that I am trying everyday to have: that today, right here, right now is amazing and that there are always things to be grateful for.  In the song, Darius relates every heartbreak, disappointment, and upset as something that led him to where he is now, with his wife and kids, but I think this attitude can be applied to any stage in life.  There will always be things we don't have that we would like - whether it be a spouse, children, a better job, more financial stability, a house, and the list goes on and on.  The point is that there are always things to be grateful for, things to find joy in everyday.

It is amazing what a great teacher hindsight can be sometimes.  Today I had a chance to reflect on where I was a year ago.  I knew exactly what I wanted: to go to grad school at BYU.  There really wasn't any other choice for me.  I think God probably got a good chuckle out of my plan. Even though I wanted that so badly, it didn't stop Him from taking my life in a different direction.  And I am so grateful for that.

As I was riding trax with some of my friends from school today, chatting and laughing with them, it suddenly hit me: if God had given me exactly what I wanted, I wouldn't be here right now.  I would not have met the girls I was talking and laughing with, I would not have met the client I have been getting to know at clinic, I would not be in the same classes or riding the same buses.  So many things would be different: from the stranger I talked to at the bus stop last week to the bus driver who had to turn around because I fell asleep on the back of the bus, to the sweet boy in my class who brought me a get well present when I was sick.  All of it would be different.  I firmly believe that everything in my life happens for a reason.  And today, right here, right now, despite all the unfulfilled hopes and dreams I have for the future, I am grateful for 'this.'