We All Have Choices : You Can Smile, Even Through Your Tears, Through All The Steps Of Life

We all go through many "roller coasters" in life. God kept convicting me to write a book after I lost Bryan, my husband of 20 years, father of my children in a tragic car wreck 2/2/13. I kept thinking & arguing with God, "What am I going to write about? What could I possibly teach people?" So many people I looked up to, in my business & my personal life, that I thought were much more qualified than me. But, anyone who knows, when God convicts you on something, you will "not win" if you choose to not do it, or try not to! :) Bryan used to always say, "I want to see you smile." I remember thinking one day, while I was crying, him looking down from Heaven saying this exact thing to me. The thought in my head, "He would not want me to be like this, & I am not being a good example to my children, nor others around me that might possibly look up to me." A lightbulb, a God moment - if you will - "You can smile, even through your tears". I thought that was going to be the title of my book. So i started writing, thinking about chapters, etc...Through much procrastination, & still yet arguing with God that there are many books out there & many others way more capable than me, over the next couple years, this word, this concept, kept popping into my head, "choices." We all have a choice to what we do in life, what we think, what we put in our mouths, what we say to ourself & to others, how we react-so many choices-We All Have Choices, & we can choose wisely or poorly, either way we will suffer or enjoy the consequences of those choices. The next few years of attempting to start writing this book, & making "choices" to put it off, saying to myself, I am too busy, I will start later, etc. If we want excuses, we can find them.In some ways, excuses can be challenges to God. After losing my husband, I didn't think I would have to deal with loss for a long time. 6 months after losing Bryan, I lost our family dog of 13 yrs. He was our sweet Boxer named Bullet. Then I lost my Grandfather, (my dad's dad) who I grew up staying at their house many weekends when I was little. March '14 comes along, we lost Bryan's father. He lived in our garage apt, we had cared for him for 15 years. My 28-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma Cancer in June of 2015, then in November 2015, my mother (who was also one of my best friends in life) was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. My daughter chose chemo plus natural things, was thankfully announced cancer free in December that year. My mother, unfortunately, we lost her in March 2016, 3 weeks before my parents 50th anniversary, huge surprise party my sisters & I had planned for them. Later in 2016, October, we lost my Bryan's Grandaddy (where my kids played on his farm & worked too, many days growing up). Most recently, his Granny Grace in July 2017.Yes, the past few years have been some of the craziest twist & turns life's roller coaster has to offer. Also the different shoes I have been given to walk through life in, & the choices of how we walk in those shoes, can make all the difference in the world. Each twist & turn & upside down moment is the opportunity to find an excuse or to find a reason. Excuses are made by those who are lazy or comfortable where they are. When we seek a true change, a true change in our mindset & in our lives, we find a reason to do it. That reason is our motivation.Instead of using all of the loss my family & I have experienced to not do something, I am seeing it as a way to impact others, to impact myself, to inspire. My choice in moving forward, in a thank you to Bryan, my Grandfather, Bryan's Grandaddy, my daughter, and my mother, as well as others, and a thank you for you also, choosing to believe in me, & making the choice to hear & read my story.Your choice is an inspiration. It is one that will inspire others. It is a choice of confidence ~ in yourself, taking the time for you, & confidence in what this book/story can offer to you.

• | Author: Laurie Delk, Erin Forte-Froehling
• | Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• | Publication Date: Sep 18, 2017
• | Number of Pages: 128 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1977612482
• | ISBN-13: 9781977612489