R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Thoughts

"When one door of happiness closes, another one opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us."
Helen Keller

I'm hosting a day-long Midlife Divorce Recovery Bootcamp in Kansas City today. I'm very excited about all the professionals who will be sharing their expertise. But one thing I want to tell R.A.D.I.C.A.L. Women is that if the divorce has happened; if there is no turning back; if the marriage is over, they need to stop focusing on "Why?" and start focusing on "What Now?" There is a place for asking, "Why." We can learn about things we could have done differently and better. But when that question has been asked, and we know about our areas that need improvement, at some point the "What now?" becomes a much better question. One door may be closed, but if we keep asking "Why?," we might not ever see the glorious things that await us in the future. And in fact, sometimes if we just let each day take care of itself, and if we concentrate on being as much in the present as we can, the "What now?" begins to take care of itself, too. We can start to see what direction we would like to head. We begin to see possibilities that we hadn't noticed before. We can even begin to see a growing optimism about the future. And when we take that next potential-filled step of saying, "God, I have no idea what you're doing in my life, but I am willing to trust your promises for my good and your glory. Show me the way." then life begins to shine beyond even our own imaginings!

"Since the Lord is directing our steps, why try to understand everything that happens along the way?"
Proverbs 20:24 (NIV)