Carry On, Warrior

"Carry On, Warrior" by Glennon Doyle Melton

I stumbled upon the authors blog through another blog that I follow. Glennon is just another ordinary mom who started a blog and then it went big and a book came out of it. Glennon has such a heart of love for others. She sees or hears about a need and does something about it. She is a recovering drug addict, alcoholic and bulimic. She has been through the ringer but chooses life and love. She is honest and she is refreshing. The book is about this journey, about this beautiful, brutal-brutiful life. "Life is hard-not because we're doing it wrong, just because it's hard." I love admitting that, it's hard for all of us, all of us in different way but still hard for all of us. "People who need help sometimes look a lot like people who don't need help." No one has it all together and some just hide it better than others. "We talked about how loving one person hard and long and well is the hardest thing on earth to do." It truly is. So much gets in the way, namely selfishness. Loving others well takes a whole lot of doing and a whole lot of serving. "What else is family if not a commitment to keep showing up?" "Good friends become each others keepers. I hold your story in my mind. I carry it for you. I'm a record of your life. I know what you will do next because I know what you've done in the past." When you are blessed enough to find this kind of friend, hold on for dear life, they don't come around twice. "If you run away from the crucifixion, you just might miss the resurrection. We have to go through the hard to get to the good, that is what helps us recognize the good for what it is. The beauty is in both the crucifixion and the resurrection. "Because love is not something for which to search or wait or hope or dream. It's simply something to do." Start doing and there you will find love. "Why is it that the second a mother admits that it's hard, people feel the need to suggest that maybe she's not doing it right? Maybe the fact that it's so hard means she IS doing it right, in her own way, and she happens to be honest." There is nothing wrong in admitting motherhood or this life is hard, it is, but we must give it our best and keep going. "That heartache is called compassion, and it is God's signal to you to do something." Don't ignore it, you'll regret it but you will never regret doing something in love, never. "I'm going to quit chasing happiness long enough to notice it smiling right at me." Sometimes we miss it, we miss what blessings we have right in front of us because we are so focused on something else. "I learned that all things pass; that life is hard to endure but not impossible. I discovered that after the enduring, if you choose not to run away, there are prizes. Those prizes are wisdom and dignity." This is a great book of encouragement. A book full of honesty and love. A book that lets you know you are not alone, life is hard but it is also so beautiful and we can do this. We can do this together and most importantly, with God.