My Thoughts Lately...

Life has it's ups and downs...the good days and the bad days. But through it all, we must realize that we are blessed.

Like the other day. It was a bit rough and things didn't go the way I wanted them to. First off, my computer hasn't been working right. I lost my iPod months ago and don't get it back until the end of the month...and so I've been using my computer like crazy. I had been dragging it to school with me each day until one night the screen decided it didn't want to turn on anymore. I had already gotten the screen replaced, so you can probably imagine how frustrated and heartbroken I was that it wouldn't come on now. I honestly don't think that the screen is the problem, but rather something else that is blocking the power from going to the screen. Thankfully, the computer has been working with an external monitor attached and my mom and dad are going to get me an entry-level MacBook Pro for a combined birthday, high school, and tech college graduation (#grateful). I can't wait to order it, but my mom has been swamped with tons of stuff and so we haven't gotten to it yet. So yeah, I'm getting impatient and my life sure doesn't feel perfect at this point. I mean...I don't have my iPod (which makes life more complicated) and my computer is busted. I know I'm going to get a new computer, but it's not happening too fast and that bugs me. 

But everything got worse on Tuesday. I usually use Firefox as my primary browser and one of my favorite things is to watch YouTube videos on my computer. By that, I mean videos from the comedy channels I follow, random tips on how to tame my curly hair, earn money, etc., or perhaps my favorite, episodes of The Brady Bunch (yes, I love that old show). I noticed something wrong with my YouTube site on Firefox. My videos were in theater mode and didn't have option to make them the smaller, normal size. This sort of freaked me out so I started to research ways to fix it. But before I knew it, I'd somehow made it worse because when I'd click on a video, the audio would start playing but the video portion was only black. I tried uninstalling and re-installing Firefox but that didn't help either. I decided I'd have to use Chrome but still researched ways to fix my Firefox browser. But about then I got into a total frenzy about something and got really angry...and my mom took away the cord that connects my computer to the external monitor (the only thing that makes it really work). I was pretty heartbroken and went to the home computer and began researching ways to fix my computer again. However, I haven't backed up all the files I want to off my computer yet and things weren't working right where I was trying to get the bottom of the laptop off so that I could try to follow the YouTube tutorial I was watching. Besides, I'd probably make it worse so I put it back in the box and put the computer into a room that we usually use for storage. It was really an emotional moment for me...having the computer back in the box it was in when I got it in over 3 years ago. I began to have flashbacks about all that it used to be. I remember coming down that same hallway when I was 14 and being psyched! I reminisced about showing my grandma it and how we wrapped it up and I opened it on Christmas Day. I burst into tears...and couldn't really take it anymore. In this way, my world felt like it was falling apart...but what I didn't realize was how I could look at this as a blessing.

Let me explain... Right now, all I really want is to get my computer back (which I do tomorrow) and to order my new Mac. But once I have both of those things (and my iPod by the end of the month), there will still be something else I really, really want and won't feel complete without. I'm always going to be discontent. At the moment I can say that what I need is those three things and then I will be completely happy and my life will be perfect, but that's not true. It may seem that way right now, but, believe me, it won't. I'm sure I'll want something else and feel incomplete without it--like maybe a phone for example. YOUR LIFE ON THIS EARTH WILL NEVER BE PERFECT. However, if you look at it the right way, it's pretty darn good. While I kind of feel broken right now, I can choose to be content. I realize that I'm pretty blessed to be able to have a computer at all. Most people across the world would feel extremely privileged if they had the problems I deal with. We shouldn't take our life for granted because tomorrow everything could be taken away from us. We are pretty blessed, even on the days we don't feel like we are.

So basically, I want this blog post to accomplish three things. I desire for it to tell you three lessons I've learned from this experience: 

1. Your life on this earth will never be perfect and you'll never be completely happy all the time here.

2. Don't take the blessings you have right now for granted.

3. You may think things are bad right now, but they could always be worse.

And not to end this on a negative note, just remember that God has blessed us with so many things. We would be nothing without His love and grace. He makes the sun shine down on us every single day. He keeps us alive. There are many more blessings I could list that I experience in my own life, but I know the two I stated above everyone enjoys. :) But above and beyond all that, He gave us His Son who came to earth to be sacrificed for our sins so that we could live with Him in heaven for all eternity. We will be truly joyful and happy all the time there...and our lives will be perfect! :D