Wednesday, September 3, 2008

You Made Me Who I Am

This weeks post comes from Ann. Thank You for sharing this inspiring story.

One of the people who has influenced me the most in my life is my Uncle Michael. He has always been the coolest uncle. He was always laid back, never got into a tizzy about things, and he wasn't a yeller or a screamer when conversations would get heated with my grandparents and their SEVEN children!

When I was in Junior High, my oldest sister graduated from college and Michael was the only relative who came for her graduation.... so we got to spend a lot of one-on-one time together. I loved listening to the things that were important to him.... beautiful landscaping, a good solid house, and dogs who loved him no matter what. I kept feeling like I needed to add something to the conversation so I would start my talks with, "don't you hate it when....." After about 3 days of him staying with us at my parents house, he turned to me and said, "Tell me something POSITIVE." I said, "what?" (in my best tween attitude voice). He said, "everything you say starts with 'don't you hate it when' and it's just so negative. The world already has plenty of negative people in it, but not enough positive people."

Isn't it amazing how with the MILLIONS of conversations you have in your lifetime, that just a few stick with you and change your life? Michael changed my life that day but I didn't know that until I was about 23 and life was really throwing me some rotten lemons. We couldn't get pregnant, my organs were shot from years of endometriosis, Jon wasn't ready to have kids yet... and on and on and on... I could see Michael's face in my mind, just as calm and gentle as he always is.... "tell me something positive, Ann".

Fast-forward to today. I no longer beat myself up about how I look or what car I drive. I don't care if my hair isn't perfect or if I'm the only one not wearing make-up. I am CHOOSING to find the positives in life. CHOOSING to spend my time on the things that matter to me. I CHOOSE to get in the pool and do crazy things with my family. I CHOOSE to get sweaty and go on hikes with my family. I CHOOSE to spend time on the couch with my husband watching our favorite movies. I CHOOSE to spend an entire weekend with my sisters and their families. I'm choosing happiness simply by finding the positives in life.

Thanks Uncle Michael.... I love you deeply.

8 comments:

My name is Andrea said...

what an awesome story on one of my favorite girl's sites by one of my other favorite girls. what a great story and it must've worked because ann is one of the most positive girls i know!

shahna said...

so true. we see what we want to see. if we want to see the positive, we will. if we want to see the negative, we will. i love to read stories about how one person in one comment completely changed someone's life for the better. thanks sarah. you rock!

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

Thanks for this important message for me today. I want to model positivity to my kids, but I sometimes say negative things just to have something to say!

Lisa said...

Beautiful story!

kira lee said...

made me cry!
glad you started this!!!

The Moose said...

Amazing isn't it? I wrote this, I lived it, and yet I still needed to re-read it and learn from it today. God truly places the right people in our lives at the right times. Thanks Sarah for using all of us as tools for EACH OTHER - what a simple yet fabulous idea!

Anonymous said...

Wow, what a great example! Thanks for sharing!

ChellaJ [Rachelle] said...

Always a good reminder about staying positive - especially when things are not always smooth sailing. Beautifully written.