10 Things that Keep Me Going

10. Guilt. I'm the master of it, and there's nobody I give it to more than myself. I must go on, because I feel guilty about all the things undone.

9. Sheer stubbornness. I do not give up easily.

8. Coffee. There's something reassuring about old routines, and I've always kind of associated coffee with security, since childhood when my parents would have their morning coffee in peace, with good conversation.

7. Daydreams. Someday, I would like to be, to do, to have, to make...

6. A good night's sleep. Once in a blue moon, at least.

5. Hope. No matter how bad things get sometimes, I always have hope -- sometimes a desperate hope -- that things can improve.

4. My children. I guess everyone needs to be needed, and these little needers are also some exceptional people.

3. My love for my husband. I want to be there for him for the next 40-80 years.

2. My husband's love. Knowing that there's someone who cares that I'm here makes a huge difference.

1. God's love. It really is the one thing that would keep me going if everything else disappeared overnight. When I feel all alone, I know I am not. When I have nobody to talk to, He listens. Just knowing that I am not alone makes all the difference. The one biggest sorrow for me is knowing that there are people out there who fight Him with such a vengeance that they seek to convince others that He is not there, does not love them, or is some impersonal force. So many people seek to educate people out of their faith, or away from any possibility of finding faith. But faith is more than only my salvation in a theological sense; it is my salvation in every other sense, too. It saves me emotionally, psychologically, even physically. It gives me a reason to grow, a reason to be kind, a reason to learn and to seek joy and to love. To those who do not have or feel they need a personal relationship with God, all I can say is this: please, in the name of mercy, do not think you do a favor by "educating" people away from having one of their own. The need to see others share your doubts is not a generous, tolerant, or enlightened thing; it is harmful, and ultimately selfish.

Consider this a new meme: you're tagged.