i let my mind wander

This is what I know. Don’t settle for 40, 50, or even 80 percent. A relationship - it shouldn’t be too small or too tight or even a little scratchy. It shouldn’t take up space in your closet out of guilty conscience or convenience or a moment of desire. Do you hear me? It should be perfect for you. It should be lasting. Wait. Wait for 100 percent.

Love starts with a fluttering of thoughts and attraction, we think “Oh, I could see myself with this person.” and then the fluttering stops and it begins to expand, like your chest is going to burst with all the feelings you hold, yet, it’s simply just that, a feeling. It’s when you continue to choose daily, saying “I am with this person, and I love them.” So now you go out of your way to show them that they matter, you go beyond what expanding and fluttering can go, and you go to the deepest part of the sea, and you drop your anchor; this is when you have made your choice. There is no going back now, you have bound yourself to the sea, and she is worth being lost in because you realize that you always had the love of her in your blood.

You will meet many types of people in your life. You will meet delicate flowers, raging oceans, quiet forests, towering mountains, and colourful skies. You will meet thunderstorms, you will meet lightning. They will knock you down, they will leave you breathless. You will meet sunrises, you will meet gardens. They will give you light, they will take you on adventures. Explore them. Get lost with them. They all have something different to teach you.

The truth is that the more intimately you know someone, the more clearly you’ll see their flaws. That’s just the way it is. This is why marriages fail, why children are abandoned, why friendships don’t last. You might think you love someone until you see the way they act when they’re out of money or under pressure or hungry, for goodness’ sake. Love is something different. Love is choosing to serve someone and be with someone in spite of their filthy heart. Love is patient and kind, love is deliberate. Love is hard. Love is pain and sacrifice, it’s seeing the darkness in another person and defying the impulse to jump ship.

I hope you find someone who is brave enough to enter your storm, and respects you enough to love the size of your waves. I hope you find someone who will relish the calm you can have, and who is eager to set sail on the expanse of your mind. I hope you find someone that can’t escape the love they have for you, because now they have you in their very blood, always reminding them that you are the only sea worth exploring.

It takes a lot to be kind. You were fed a lot of fairy tales and fables growing up only to realise they don’t apply in real life. You try to be good, yet bad things still happen. Some days, you walk around with your insides feeling dead cold and the last thing you want to do is smile. But nobody ever said it was going to be easy. It takes extreme courage and strength and effort to be compassionate. It makes you vulnerable, and the worst thing is you might not even get rewarded for it. It is never easy. So if today you were kind even though you felt torn up on the inside, you are wonderful and you deserve to be celebrated.

A couple of times in your life, it happens like that. You meet a stranger, and all you know is that you need to know everything about them.

If you’re feeling frightened about what comes next, don’t be. Embrace the uncertainty. Allow it to lead you places. Be brave as it challenges you to exercise both your heart and your mind as you create your own path towards happiness, don’t waste time with regret. Spin wildly into your next action. Enjoy the present, each moment, as it comes; because you’ll never get another one quite like it. And if you should ever look up and find yourself lost, simply take a breath and start over. Retrace your steps and go back to the purest place in your heart… where your hope lives. You’ll find your way again.

Maybe today will be your big day and I hope that it is, but you don’t have to feel bad if it isn’t. Today doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be the day you change your life, the day you fix your problems, the day you start a new project, the day you heal, the day you win. Maybe today can just be the day you get out of bed or the day you are kinder to yourself than you were yesterday. Today doesn’t have to be everything. It just has to be today. It’s enough. It’s okay. There will be other days. There will be other chances. Until then, just enjoy this one as much as you can.

We please Him most, not by trying to make ourselves good, but by throwing ourselves into His arms with all of our imperfections and believing that He understands everything–and still loves us.