"Stand close to people who bring you sunshine.”
I saw this quote the other morning on my friend page and it made me think. What does that even mean? After thinking all morning on it and going through my senior session with Rachel, I came across these pictures. I instantly felt joy looking at the yellow and greens and that gorgeous sunshine shining through the trees and Rachel’s face smiling at her beautiful mother and me. I, then, realized what that quote from that morning meant to me. I think it’s not just saying that you need to cling to people who are nice to you and treat you well but saying people who bring you joy! Now stay with me here. Not everyone that doesn’t bring you joy are bad people, nor should you feel badly about them. There is a little under 8 BILLION personalities in the world. You aren’t going to mesh well with everyone. That’s impossible. So why do people put themselves in situations where they are unhappy with who they are around? Is it because they are family? Maybe you have the same friends? Maybe you feel obligated for some reason? The list goes on and on but I have another question for you. Who is in charge of your happiness? Is it your spouse? Your children? Your mailman? Your cashier at Wal-Mart? Where does it make any sense to let another person determine whether your inner peace is disrupted? YOU are the only person who can make you happy. YOU are in charge of who you let in your personal space, who you let in your thoughts during the day, and what you decide to tolerate. I don’t think just because you have a falling out with someone or you decide to not to be around them that it means that person is Satan and you should hate them. I’ve come to a realization this last almost two years and it is this. Not everyone who are big parts of your life need to be in your life forever. Stay with me again and let me explain. I am a strong believer that God puts people in your life and some are for “seasons”. This could be during a break up, during your “wild” years, during the mommy-ing tiny human years, or later on in life when your children are grown. I feel like the need to make every relationship work just because they were a big part of your life years ago is what causes so much heartache, headaches, and ultimately ill feelings between two people who were once close. People change and grow and some grow apart and I’m here to tell you IT IS OKAY. I’m also a firm believer that when God takes a person or relationship out of your life that he blesses you with many others. One thing that I am going to STOP doing is being around people who make me feel bad about myself and messes with my inner peace. Because I am the one who is in charge of MY happiness. It is no one else’s fault when I am sad or upset but ME. I promise you, it is okay to protect yourself from people, love yourself enough to do what makes you happy and distance yourself from things or relationships that no longer bring you joy. Surround yourself with people who build you up in this season of your life and don’t disrupt your joy with ill feelings for others from past seasons. Love yourself enough to not think badly about people who are no longer in your life because it only messes with your future and wish them well. I promise you, YOU are something special and YOU deserve happiness all the time.
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