To You For You

The official high temperature in Kansas City today was 97 degrees, and the weather dudes are saying that the high on Friday will struggle to reach 60. There's a big old Canadian cold front on the march through the Midwest ... a cold front that is slamming into hot humid air and you know what that means ... yep, stormy weather. And just in case you're a new reader or a long-time reader who's forgotten, I hate, hate, hate stormy weather. I've heard it said that one of the best ways to learn what is going on in a person's mind at any given moment is to look at the tabs they have open on their Internet browser. You can bet your last penny that the other tab I've got open right now is the local weather radar ... so far, the storms are staying north of KC, and I'm praying they stay away so I can get some desperately needed sleep tonight. And even more, I'm praying for the safety of the folks in the towns that are experiencing some fierce storms as I type.

I was channel surfing after watching the local news (actually, I was trying to find one of those creepy 24/7 weather channels so I could be even more freaked out about the possibility of the storms making it to my neighborhood), and I stumbled upon a program where Oprah Winfrey was being interviewed. I've always wondered how anyone could not like Oprah ... talk about a rags to riches story in its truest form, and good for her for not only overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds just to survive but to follow her dreams and go on to become one of the most famous women on the planet. If you don't know her back story, you should take some time to read about where she came from and what she lived through when she was young ... grab some tissues when you do because hers is not an easy story to read. I don't agree with some of her beliefs, but I do have a tremendous amount of respect for her as a person ... a person who managed to make it through things that would have caused a ton of us to throw in the towel and say, "I give up."

You know she must have said something pretty profound to cause me to abandon my quest for a round-the-clock weather channel and watch the interview ... something amazingly, heart-touchingly, bring tears to my eyes profound. She was talking about things happening for a reason and how the things we go through in life aren't random or coincidental but rather part of a master plan. That's not profound to me ... I've heard those words or some derivation of them my whole life. It was the following words she spoke that got to me ... made me stop ... engaged me to listen ... forced me to pause and deeply consider the truth contained within her words. In fact, there's so much power in Oprah's words that I'm going to close with them ... read them several times ... let them get to you ... make you stop ... engage you to listen ... force you to pause and deeply consider the truth contained within them.  

"Everything we go through ... everything that happens to us is for us ... not one experience in life, good or bad, is wasted. What happens to us is for us ... to learn, to understand, to grow. Everything that happens to you is for you ... nothing is wasted."