What will you write?

Have you ever watched a movie and yelled at a character as they did something or went somewhere they shouldn't? Then in the next moment the bad thing happens to them and inside you're thinking, see, I told you.

That can be entertaining in a room full of people at a movie theater when everyone is yelling at the screen, but it's not so entertaining when it's your story...

This morning I went for a walk. It's the first time I walked from my house to the intersection down the street since April 17, 1999. That was the day after my mom was killed at the intersection and the day I walked to that corner and had one of the most brutal, honest conversations I have ever had with God.

Today, as I walked past that intersection, I stepped into the middle of the quiet street, and stood at the location where my mom was likely hit by the car that ran the stop sign. As I stood I there, I had a moment like watching a movie. If I was watching, what would I have yelled at the screen? Mom, don't drive that way. Slow down a little. Look to your left.

Why did that happen? That's not fair.

That's life.

As the sun sets on our day, the ink dries. The story has been written. We can watch it a hundred times and it's won't change a thing. We can't undo that decision. We can't unsay those words. We can't unsend that text. We can't relive that moment.

And yes, it is true that sometimes people step into our lives and add a plot twist that is unforseen. Things happen to us that are beyond our control and unavoidable. But those things are not the main character in our lives. We are.

Every morning we arise to a new day with a blank page. Yes, the pages before have been written and there is nothing we can do to change them. But we have the ability, with the pen of our lives in our hand, to write a new chapter, add a plot twist, or come up with an alternate ending.

Our story to this point has already been written. We can't change it, but we can learn from it. We can't erase our mistakes, but we can strive to not repeat them. We can't dwell on our victories, but we can remember how we achieved them. Our hurts, joys, pains, and celebrations are the ink that fills the pages behind us.

Don't let the ink of the past trap you from writing a better future. Don't let the victories of the past keep you from striving for better adventures ahead of you. We only have one life, we only have one pen, and each day we only have one blank page before us.

What will you write today?

shine!

Jason