What a Difference a Day Makes

I have had the hiccups for 16 straight hours. I woke up with them this morning and they have yet to go away. It is preventing me from having conversations with people because I get all embarrassed that I hiccup while I talk so it's just easier not to speak. it's been a weird day.

I think a lot about the power of a "day". A friend of mine once spoke of how he thought he would never get over his ex and how nothing will change for him, and I think I responded with some cliche that I stole from Grey's Anatomy about how you can never underestimate the power of a single day. The point I was trying to make was that some things really do change quickly. Sometimes even feelings change in the course of a day. I wasn't trying to convince him that she wasn't important or that it would only take a day to get over her, but I don't think it's fair to yourself to believe you never will get over someone. You never know the difference a day can make.

I have had a lot of days that I feel have changed my life.

Backstory: I don't like making decisions. If a decision doesn't come easily to me, I generally just wait things out until a decision absolutely HAS to be made and then I screw it up. Take my dating life for example...I never want to tell a guy "no", so I simply wait it out and date him until I just can't date him any more and then I have to break him. It happens far too often. If I just knew what I wanted when he asked me out in the first place, I would have saved him a lot of pain, and myself a lot of annoyance. But I just don't work like that.

Some of the best decisions in my life are the ones I gave the least amount of thought to. Those are the days that stick out to me - the one's that really define me.

I have mentioned before about how I was once in a really rough place. There are two days that stick out for me that I think are the days that things changed. Things seemed insurmountable before these days happened, and there was hope for tomorrow after them.

The first was when my two best friends in my university program were discussing how they wanted to do an overseas practicum. I had decided I wouldn't do it, mainly because I had no idea how to afford it, and no idea how to leave home. Along with this, I was extremely dependent on my own suffering. I didn't know who I was without it. Anyways, I hadn't given a Europe practicum any thought...I didn't even think they were serious about going. Then Lindsay said I should come. Without thinking, I said sure.

And that was all it took. For a full year, I saved all my money and got everything ready and went to Europe. It was a trip I had never considered before I said yes, and it turned out to be one of the best things I have done with my life.

The second day that changed me was the day I met a boy. It was Father's day, and he picked me out at church and asked me out after the message. We went out later that week, and he gave me the friend and the relationship I had so desperately needed. Right outta nowhere. I never saw it coming. I also never saw it ending...(which it did.) But I can honestly say this guy changed my life. He was never the type I saw myself with, but it just happened anyways. I had dug myself a huge whole with a bunch of friendships, so it was almost good that I had no one to talk to when things were starting with him. I would have talked myself out of a relationship with him if I gave it too much thought. So I just did it. And it didn't work out, but it ended up being the best summer I could have imagined, and I grew up a lot as a result.

I think a lot of people change and grow over time, and I think that is true for me too. I also think I have changed sometimes overnight. I may be the only one who sees it, but I can definitely pin-point when the change happens.

There have been other "days" in my life that I had no idea would end up being so significant.

Any job I have taken I can honestly say I accepted without giving any thought to. I had thoughts after I had committed to the jobs, but my decision process was quick. And all of the jobs have worked out. I'm not one of those people who only stays at places for a few months...I normally hang around a few years and work my way to the top. If I take the opportunity that is placed in front of me, I end up liking it. I think God knows me well enough to know that I rarely go out looking for change, so if He wants me to change, He puts it right in my face and makes it impossible to say no to. If that messes up your view of God or you don't think He works like that, well fine. He can relate to me different than He relates to you.

I love that everything sucky really can get better in a day. (There is a flip side to this, everything great can get really sucky in a day as well, but who wants to focus on that?)

I have "Strength for today, hope for tomorrow" tattooed on my foot. I stole that line from Great is Thy Faithfulness and I absolutely LOVE it. (Hurt like a mofo.) But everything I have written about is why I tattooed that line. My strength for today and hope for tomorrow comes from knowing that I serve a God who actually gives me that. He gives me hope for tomorrow, because He shows me that one single day can make all the difference in the world. He doesn't need to take a year to make things better, He can do it instantly. If that can't give me hope, nothing will.

I need to sleep now, so I apologize if this makes no sense or if it doesn't "flow". One thing I can say is that I still have these friggin hiccups. I'm lying in bed with my mac on my stomach and every time I hiccup, the screen lifts and I end up pressing a wrong button. There must be at least a million grammatical errors in this entry.

Till we meet again and the case is solv-ed...(10 points if anyone can quote the correct movie.)

-swags