Just so you know . . .

Cleaning out the dress up closet and ran into this little gem. Last Halloween I thought it a good idea to pick out a few of the kids costumes while I was shopping. When receiving this one after school Kaleeya had a "not so sure about that" look on her face. Not really caring too much, I had her throw it in her closet with the plan that this year she was going to be wearing it. Halloween came and the first door opened. Ironically the woman at the door bent over and told Kaleeya what an adorable little Rainbow Dash she was. With boldness—and a little bit of her mother's attitude—she professed with a scowl, "Hey—just so you know—my mom picked this out when I was at school!"

I have thought about that moment over and over. That day she was so ticked about the costume she had been handed...that she missed the beauty of a night of free candy.

How many times in our lives do we get so wrapped up in the trials we have been handed, or the broken body—or life story—that has been forced upon us...that we forget about all the sweet things being handed to us. It's right in front of our eyes, but we are so scared of what we think we are missing—or we thought we wanted to be—that we forget how to put on a smile and see the little blessings that are all around us.

Life isn't about having it all go our way—or living our perfect plan—it's about learning how to smile even when we are dressed up like Rainbow Dash.