Metamorphosis

"You look really good." I've heard that from two friends lately. While I don't want to put too much stock in external validation, their words meant a lot, because for many years, I've gotten criticism about the way I looked. And with good reason. Sometimes I was sick. Sometimes I was stressed. Sometimes I was sick because I was stressed. Sometimes I was stressed because I was sick. And sometimes I was stressed and sick. And it showed.

Life is not a bed of roses, but I do feel that I'm in a better place now. Maybe it's marriage. Maybe it's coming home to myself. Maybe it's age and maturation. All I know is that I'm in a process of becoming that isn't over yet.

I liken life to a serious of metamorphoses. There are times when we're in the darkness of the cocoon, safe and warm and well fed. And there are times when we're struggling against the darkness, trying to get out and be free. And there are times when we are happy, not perfectly so, but joyful. And we celebrate those times.

Tomorrow is World Mental Health Day, and in honor of it, I'd like to challenge all of us to take a minute to consider where we've been, where we are, and where we're going. May we remember that we are never stuck in the darkness. May we remember that freedom comes when we fight the good fight. May we remember that life is beautiful even if painful at many points along the way. Life is worth living, at any and every stage. May we live today and each day to its fullest. To God be the glory.