Bonus Blog: “Time to Stand” "Dear Life"

This is an excerpt from a non-fiction book that I am writing called “Time to Stand”:

Dear Life,

I forgot to tell you yesterday that this is my life; you sometimes fail to remember that! Although, we have been through this before and you still seem to forget this. You may be in control of what you throw at me, but I am in control of how I react to those situations. I will be remembered less for the tragedies you throw at me and more for the way I faced those tragedies. And it is not you who defines me; it is I who defines you. I define you with the way I hit every tragedy head on with heart, soul, attitude, and class. This is more about me and my time to stand than it is about you and the way you try to keep me on the mat. This is more about my time to speak, the words I have to speak, and less about the tricks that you use to silence me. It is more about my journey and not about the road blocks you use to impede my travels. Sadly dear life it is more about me than it has ever been about you.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 of the King James Bible states: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time to war, and a time of peace. 

God himself has said there is a time for everything, including time for great tragedies. So as I lay on my back in your virtual boxing match, I hear your soft voice in my ear saying “stay down” and I start to wonder if this was the knockout punch for me. As I look up, I know I have the strength to pick myself up off the mat, but I wonder if I want to this time.  Many have already counted me out and I am not sure I can beat the count this time, but just because you call me washed up doesn’t make it true; it is my choice from here. You are a grand master of taunting me with my failures while you hide my triumphs. Oh life you are a bastard sometimes, but you are what I make of you.

Though God said there would be tragedies and storms, he also said that there would be days full of joy. Though he said there would be misery from time to time, he also said there would be days on end of happiness. He said to everything there is a season and we all know that seasons change. There is a time for everything! We must be brave enough to weather the storm in the darkest hours and wise enough to prepare for the upcoming storms when we are basking in the sun. There is a time to relax, a time to recharge, a time to be plot, a time to journey and most of all a “Time to Stand” for one’s self in an ever changing world. So dear life this is my time, not yours, so set back and watch me grow from here.

Sincerely,

Cecil Douglas Rowlett Jr.