a flower bursting forth. a joy.

What a beautiful day!  I get to spend it with my sweetie. 
Each day, each of us chooses what we will do with our lives.  Some of us let life dictate how our day will go. 
You DO have a choice.  Do you choose to be happy?  Do you choose to let little things get you down?  Do you choose to make the best of each day, face problems head on, and yet still be happy?
Does the past haunt you?  Mistakes.  Heartaches.  Loneliness.  Work.  Children.  Job.  Bosses. 
Did you take the time to see this day as a blessing?  Or is it another day of toil and trouble?
This may come as surprise to some, but we all make choices every day. 
This is not to make light of those very hard times in life.  Pain, heartache, despair, sometimes agony.  That is real.  But what also is real is the light at the end of the tunnel.  Hope.  Its real. 
If you are in that spot in your life and all seems hopeless, I can tell you it is not.  I have been in the deepest of pits.  I have been shunned by many.  I have had my darkest days.  But hope was always there.  There were days that seemed so very hopeless.  But each day I tried to find my joy.
A therapist told me that.  Its a way to cope.  I would have a very rough day and I would get a smile from a store clerk.  I would see a pretty sky.  A flower would come forth in the yard.  Even if it was a dandelion.  It was still a joy to me.
After facing down my many demons, taking responsibility for my bad choices, making amends, and asking for forgiveness, I began to reclaim my life.  Its a slow process.  But it had to be done.  It took me about eight years. 
It was worth every minute.  Every minute of heartache.  Because when I reclaimed my life, reclaimed my right to happiness, made the choice to be happy, made the choice to be myself, not what others wanted, my head was a little higher, my shoulders were back, a determined smile came upon my countenance.  People noticed. 
I quit being a doormat.  I am strong and I am still standing.  I love life and all it has to offer.
So.
This day, I choose to spend with my Rita.  And she chooses to spend her day with me.  She doesn't have to.  But she does.  And I am grateful. 
Thank you Lord for this wonderful woman you have given me as my wife.  I will NOT take her for granted.  This day, this wonderful Valentines Day, I choose to spend it with her, and honor her.
I am grateful.  David