Feel {Great} Friday!

So I want to start out with what I wanted Feel {Great} Fridays to be about on the first one last week:

I have this belief that Fridays should be focused on the positive, no matter what the situation you are in or the prayers on your mind at the moment.  Especially if you are naturally pessimistic the rest of the week or have had a few really bad days or days filled with not so great news.  God gave us a chance to have hope in our lives, and Friday is just as good as any to express it!

Here is the thing: I didn't expect God to test my faith in that very stated belief so quickly.  So even though I am struggling with a heavy heart today and this week (which I may or may not feel comfortable sharing more about later), here is Feel {Great} Friday in a slightly different form than last week.

My #1 reason to Feel {Great} on this Friday:

Cooper decided to come meet us!

This sweet guy decided to come meet us on Monday night.  And after seeing him this week, I can honestly say he has a way of making things feel great.  His parents are pretty awesome too. He is happy and healthy, sleepy and surprisingly quiet, hates any cold air/ointment/object, and has a way of making everything right in the world when you are holding him. And I think he is pretty durn cute.

Here are some other things I am reminding myself are fantastic reasons to Feel Great on this Friday: 

• God has a plan.  Even when it isn't obvious.  And even when it hurts.  And even when the timing sucks.  God has a plan.  This is something to feel great about. 
• There is a lot to be thankful for.  Gratitude can simultaneously make you feel guilty for all of the things you have and make you feel wonderful for all that you have.  But it really does turn everything into enough.  In my case this week, gratitude is turning everything I have into enough in that specific second - in a "this is my best" kind of way. Gratitude is something to feel great about.
• Friends. The friends that were, the friends that are, and the friends that will always be.  Friends are both a reason to feel great, and be grateful.  Grateful for the friends that you don't have in your day to day life anymore, friends that you do, and friends that you don't have to have every second to know they are there.  Sometimes, you even need to be grateful for your friends' friends - after all, they are impacting your friends in many ways that are benefiting you.  And if, for any reason, these friends disappear from your life, being thankful that you had the opportunity to be impacted by them - big or small - and recognize how it is all part of God's plan {see bullet number 1 for that to go full circle}.
• The circle of life is amazing, crazy, awe-inspiring, relentless, and unpredictable.  I feel as if this is something I need to get better at appreciating {if at least for the sheer magnitude of it} and embracing - and remembering that it is especially part of bullet #1. 

Sometimes it is a conscious decision to feel great.  And quite honestly, sometimes it is far from natural.  At times, it makes you afraid that you are somehow compromising the other emotions that you are feeling at the EXACT SAME MOMENT by feeling great.

But this week I have learned that life is full of confusing emotions.  And feeling great is the way God wants us to feel - even when the emotions of everything are too overwhelming.