A wise man once said, “We can complain that rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” This wise man happened to be an amazing leader of our country during a time when our country was falling apart. Abraham Lincoln had plenty he could complain about. Leading a country that was at war with each other would be daunting for anyone, but he led with grace and chose to see the beauty rather than the destruction.
As single parents it is easy to complain. Raising a child alone is tough. Being divorced is a constant challenge. Your days are busy and your nights are often restless. You’re running from one thing to the next all day every day and you rarely get a chance to sit down and breathe. But I have found that the more you focus on the things you don’t have the more difficult it is to see the things right in front of you.
Instead of complaining about how painful your divorce was, why not rejoice in the second chance you’ve been given? That’s not to discount the painful experiences you went through, but if you let your past consume you it is impossible to move on. You now have the opportunity to find the happiness you’ve always dreamed of; you just have to be patient enough to find it. You can have everything you’ve ever wanted for you and your children, you just took a little longer to get there than you expected, but you have gained strength and compassion through your experiences that will make all the difference in your future relationships. No matter how thorny your divorce may have been there is always a beautiful rose waiting at the end.