“It helped.” No one else said anything until Damien brought up the football game from the other night. They played until Parker’s dad opened the front door and yelled that it was time for dinner. That night in bed Marcos couldn’t stop thinking about what Parker had said, that it had helped. Could it really help him too?

I knew it! Social media is not reality. But wait, we already knew that. But then why do we so needlessly get sucked into believing people are posting accurate representations of their lives? We tell ourselves that what we are seeing is not reality, but there is still this tiny voice in the back of our minds trying to convince us otherwise. And then we go and listen to it. 

Why? 

We want the glory without the work. We want the result without the pain. I know that might sting a little, and you may even disagree with me. But think for a moment. When was the last time you were experiencing a trial and thought to yourself, “Man, this is amazing; I can’t wait to see how much I grow as a result of this!”

The lesson was difficult. There are many circumstances in life that we can and should change. But sometimes, as much as we want a different outcome, what we have is what we get. It may be a diagnosis, a loss, a death, or some other circumstance that cannot be altered. At that point, life is what we make of it. And what do we make?