Bittersweet Symphony

Ever hear one person play one note on one instrument?  It can be either pleasant or annoying.  Then they play a scale, or a few notes randomly and you get a better idea of what they're trying to accomplish.  Then a friend comes over and adds their different musical instrument to the first one, and it starts getting into a nice harmony, and you enjoy it a bit more.  Yeah, I'm going somewhere with this.  The more people working together, the more beautiful the sound, especially if they're all getting better at what they do by practicing.

Oooh, see what I did there? Now I'm talking about the Journey!  When you're all alone, sometimes life seems overwhelming.  You get up, you go to work, you deal with your issues, you eat, you go to sleep.  That can either be pleasant or annoying, depending on the day.  But you know how great it is when you get to spend time with a friend? You have little inside jokes, you do stuff that's way more fun than your 'regular' day, and you have a smile on your face when you go to sleep that night, remembering the conversations and laughter.  You have a little more joy in your life.  Now add some more friends; maybe a group of you who haven't seen each other in a long time, and you're all reminiscing, having a blast, sledding or bowling or whatever it is -- it's tons of fun to have the group together!

It's like that for the internal work we have to do, too.  Emotionally, we're not cut out for going it alone all the time.  I'm not saying solitude is a bad idea, but it's certainly a bad idea to try to always carry the weight alone.  Take a look at Jesus: from time to time, He went off on His own.  Most of the time, however, He was surrounded by friends.  Other people on the Journey with Him.  He asked them for favors, and they had His back.  They didn't always get along or agree, but they were there for one another.  And He's said the same for us: "I am with you always, even to the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20).  He's put other people in our lives, though, for a reason.  We're supposed to lift one another up with encouragement and inspiration, pick someone up if they fall, walk and talk and study and learn and grow together.  Even from the beginning of time that was the plan! "It is not good for man to be alone," it was said in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:18).  That doesn't just mean you find your mate and procreate, it means we're not cut out to do life alone.  And that was in the Garden of Eden!  Perfection!  The way things stand in 2013, we need each other just to survive, wouldn't you agree?

This symphony we call 'life'... it's not just a bunch of notes.  It's beautiful and heart-wrenching.  It's bittersweet and joyful.  It's painful and delightful and agonizing and wonderful, and I wouldn't have it any other way than with you fine people.


I want to thank you for reading.  My goal is to reach out to 400 followers on the Facebook page by March 1st, so if you would like to help see US reach that goal (you, me, and the rest of us on The Journey), please cut and paste the following into your Facebook status and let's get this train rolling!  The more the merrier, I say.  One is a loner, two are a couple, but 400?  That's a party, my friends!

PLEASE CUT AND PASTE INTO YOUR FACEBOOK STATUS:

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www.facebook.com/pages/A-Journey-of-Reinvention/109381922477397 Are you on the Journey for 2013? Go here, click 'like', get encouraged, win stuff, take some steps with us. What've you got to lose?
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My most humble thanks to each and every one of you.  Here's to a new year filled with next steps for each of us!

Stephanie Jean