Milestones.......Not Always What They are Cracked Up To Be...

From the minute we are born we are hitting milestones in our lives.  Smiling, talking, walking, growing and on and on.  This past week while reading a daily devotion from Guidepost I was forced to look a little harder at milestones in life and what they really represent.  The author of this particular writing was a young father and he was lamenting the progression of his young children from crib to bed.  Ahhh - I so remember those days - bitter sweet because as they grow and become more independent, they also are growing up and life is moving on.  While that is what we all wish for our children, it is not an easy process.

What this young Dad realized in this moment was startling to me - he said that each milestone......each growth and development is sort of like a death in a way.  Well I extrapolated this even further - for all of us as we touch these milestones in life, we are moving closer to our own mortality.  Yep - there it is - I said it. Each tick mark moves us closer to the line - whatever it may be for us.

As I move into the beginning of the 4th quarter of my life, I am starting to see that all of the rush to get to  these milestones is foolish.  We spend so much of our time worrying about this one or that but not so much enjoying the experience and what lies in between.  Since I have been forced to slow my life down and limit what I can actually do, I am learning that life is really in the small things and those big milestones and events - while exciting and wonderful - are not the sum of all things.  If I could go back I would linger over each one for my children and savor the deliciousness of each of their steps rather than pushing them along the path to grow up.

It is the very same with a chronic illness - we must make the most we can out of each day - good, bad or indifferent because hoping and waiting for the day we are better or reach the milestone of a cure may and most likely will never come.  This is not negativity speaking but acceptance and the attempt to learn to make the very most of what I do have rather than wishing for what I don't or may never.  I see suffering around me every day and I fully realize it is all part of life but we have to try to learn from everything and know that all experiences give us something whether it be learning, patience, appreciation, etc. we will get something from everything......every little thing.