.The Crossroads.

Sometimes we find ourselves at a crossroads.....we make the best decisions we can and try our best to think every situation and scenario through and sometimes our best decision isn't what's best for everyone else in your life....but you do it anyway, because you believe something might be different this time. You have convinced yourself that this time will be the time that everything will work in your favor.....without ever considering that it might not. In the process, you push everything away.....people, family, dreams, hopes, and all fear that the bottom may fall out.....and then, when it does, what will happen? Who will you have then?


This world can be a lonely place when the only person on your radar is yourself. I know we all tell everyone to do what's best for themselves and all that warm, fuzzy, independent stuff that you learn from various other people in your life as you climb the ladder of life....but sometimes there is this desire to step in, shake the crap out of them, and tell them to rethink the left turn they just took. Sadly, all the shaking in the world doesn't stop them sometimes and you are left to try to figure out how you all got here....how this happened...and what the heck you're going to do from here.....then you shut off for a little while and you cry if you have to or you get angry or you just don't do anything and hope that tomorrow is a better day...and then you pray....because it's all you've got left....you, God, and this big, scary world.


The crossroads of life are never easy....in fact, you usually come to them when you are at a big point in your life and, well, we never quite know the exact time we're going to get there but there we are, staring this intersection in the face knowing we have to make a choice in order to keep going. Right or Left. Right or Wrong. Good or Bad. Hope or Despair. Happiness or Misery. Everything rides on these choices. It will change the course of our lives....and we hope for the best, not knowing....taking gigantic leaps of faith....and praying it will turn out okay in the end.


Maybe it's the not knowing that scares us into making these decisions. Maybe it's easier to stay safe and with what you know....but I've learned, from my own experience, it's when we put ourselves out there and take the less traveled road that our character is formed.....our joy is magnified.....and our love is forever changed. Maybe it's the leaps of faith that define us.....maybe it's the not knowing and reaching always for the better of the two choices....and the act leaving behind the sadness and misery that comes with that same "safety" that is so attractive sometimes because we know what we've got and to start over is, well, terrifying. Maybe it's doing something different that makes all the difference. Maybe the crossroads would be better if we always knew what road lead to the joy......but maybe the beauty of it is making the right choice and finding that the love and joy you were longing for was waiting for you as you turned the corner....and will follow you for the rest of your journey....or, at least, until you find yourself again at the intersection of this big, beautifully scary world.