Three Amazing Women

I am particularly inspired and proud of three women in my life right now. These three women are three friends that I love more than anything. Each of them lately have been dealt very interesting and challenging hands and I've been here to observe them as they move through it. If there's one thing I've seen with each one, it's that they are strong, and brave, and ready to tackle anything. They make me proud and are teaching me infinitely important lessons.

One of these dear ladies recently received medical news that would throw us all in a panic. A girl of only 23 years of age, she surprised us all with a reality we never expected should strike someone so young. What has happened since? She has shown me the power of positive thinking. This lady, even in the hospital bed, laughed and grinned and joked the whole while. She took everything in stride and never wavered. She kept thinking positive and believing positive things. She kept smiling. And now she's doing much better, is back at home, and enjoying this Autumn like the rest of us. It reminded me that being positive gives you the power over situations. And she was able to turn her scary situation into a happy ending. :) She is unstoppable!

Another lady has found herself on a path she didn't want to be on. It wasn't in her original plan, and it's not what she originally wanted. At first she seemed frustrated, and upset. (As was I, when I found myself too on a different path than anticipated.) What we discovered together was this: so what! So what that things don't always pan out like we want them too. The journey is still a good one, and everything happens for a reason. I've watched her calm down and take very deliberate steps on this new path. She has accepted where she is at and is bravely moving forward. She reminds me that God would not give her anything she couldn't handle. And I'm learning just how much she can handle! This girl is a fighter and is taking every bend in this new road with strength and courage. I look forward to following her progress as she finally gets to where she was headed all along (even if the path provided was a bumpy one.) Watching her navigate the speed bumps has helped me with my own. :)

The third woman who has been inspiring me has been dealt a little bit of a mystery. Her situation has gone back and forth between understood and confusing. What she's been dealing with has left her with very little energy and I know that this just drives her nuts, a woman who is used to always moving and shaking! Here's a woman who serves others. Always. She is loved by everyone who meets her and touches lives everywhere. She is constantly out making this world a better place, be it by decorating her home all the way to giving a worried teenager someone to trust. She plays a very important role in our community, and especially my life. For her to be forced to slow down has been difficult. It's not her style. She has had to sit back, relax, and let other people come wait on HER for a change! I know her change of lifestyle right now has been unideal, but she's taking it like a trooper and it feels good to help as best I can. She has shown me how to bend with the wind and take things as they come. Even when things are confusing and uncertain, she's still smiling and plugging onward. Soon enough she'll be back to her normal pace, but until then she at least has a huge support crew and lots of love from everyone. She cares so much for so many, that even when she's not feeling 100% she still wants to give 100%, and that to me is amazing. Not all of us give enough to others, be it time, understanding, or love. This woman has it down to an art and it warms me to know that nothing ever gets in the way of that. :) (No matter what life throws her direction!)