Faith...how sweet it is!

Where does the time go? It's July already and the fact that retailers are merchandising their Christmas trees only adds to the notion that time sure does fly!   But with that being said, it is halfway through the year and I can say I have stubbornly in most ways obliged to my New Year's resolutions and then some.  Sooooo...I get this cylinder maroon thinggy majiggy in the mail the other day.  Even with no return address, I shrug my shoulders in various spasmodic poses followed by a mildly pretentious giddiness as I study it.  And then I smile.  I carefully remove the label, gently scratching away at the shreds of tape holding the seams together and then pop off the top.  And in this pretty concoction, is my latest goal...achieved.  I finally finished my degree after years of whining and making every excuse in the book to not finish.  To get there, I had to endure many late nights, mental post breakdowns and mini panic attacks that don't seem so grueling now.  Many times I wanted to throw in the towel, ignore an assignment, enter nonsense gibberish in a post whilst seeking only my word count requirement but in those moments, there was always something that steered me straight.  Perhaps it was faith.  Ah yes...that word!  Defined as a strong, unshakable belief in something, it can define almost anything; you just gotta have it and once you've tasted it, you will want to keep going back for seconds and then before you know it, it becomes this potluck thing that becomes your specialty and people always rely on you to bring it to every occasion.  Where is Laura? Will she be bringing her specialty "faith a la mode"?  "Oh, of course" they will say.  "A party just isn't a party without that dish."  (Insert a handful of applauds and deep sighs).  Well...okay so the backyard barbecue conversations are a bit much and perhaps a wee bit oh...let's say over-the-top but nonetheless, this is what plays in my head  when I think about the changes that I need to make in my life and that I have to have faith to know believe everything will work out just fine.  Who says you can't have your cake and eat it too?  Please!  Faith will quickly disseminate that phrase.  Listen to Gandhi or Mother Teresa or heck, even me (please excuse my lack of modesty while I insert myself into a sentence with those two legends).  Have faith in all you do and in the meantime Keep Calm and well you know...eat cake.