Open Hands

This post was originally published last year, but with a new year and new season upon us, I wanted to share it again because it encompasses so much of what we believe:

Not one of our lives is the same.

No one else will have the very same experiences as you. No one else will influence the exact same people as you. No one else will get the same opportunities or face the same trials. No one else will be in the exact same place and time. The combination of your personality, abilities and talents is yours alone. No one else will make the same mistakes. No one else will learn the very same lessons. And not one other person will tell the same story as you.

So live your life with open hands, accepting all that God has given you. Don't spend your time wishing you were someone else or comparing yourself to the people around you. Take your chances and opportunities and challenges; take your gifts and heartaches and experiences; take it all, unafraid to get messy along the way, and write a story that no one else will ever get the chance to write.

And yes, I love these hands of our sweet nephew Benjamin...