This was Chicago:

Hailed a taxi in the pouring rain wearing a short black dress and heels, had me feeling like a rock star. My dreams of being a reality TV star came true when I stumbled upon the Little People of America parade. I hopped in a cab who was blasting Bob Marley and it was magical. I saw the filming of Transformers 3, witnessed the most unique and fun Irish catholic/Jewish wedding and had a fantastic shopping experience along the magnificent mile (Michigan avenue).

A very memorable weekend, filled with lots of memorable quotes. My favorite coming from my "over served" cousin giving another cousin advice in the bathroom at the wedding reception, "Go for it! You know, you wake up the next morning and you either love it or you don't, but you go!" Not really words to live by in all circumstances, but it is true of life. Although you can control how much you're loving life the next day, based on the decisions you made the night before...Sometimes we will hate the next day, sometimes we will love it, but you have to keep on going regardless.

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"For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death." {2Corinthians 7:10}

I believe it to be true, and have experienced this sorrow in a way that I ran to God. "All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort." {2Corinthians 1:3}

"Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." {2 Corinthians 12:8-10}

And yet, I have never regretted once, the hardships and experiences I have faced. To the world you might say, i grew from my mistakes, but no detail surpasses God. I am His wonderful creation, and He is the Wood Carver carefully chiseling me into His masterpiece.

I pray for you too, to experience a godly sorrow. That your mind and heart would be enthralled with the knowledge of who you can be in Him, and how nothing you are with out him. It is the true definition of bittersweet. I am nothing with out Him. I will continually revert back to my sinful ways, and it is this inevitable knowledge that I realize just how much I need Him.

It's a hard journey, this life but I hope you see how we are better together. I shared with a dear friend my burdened heart and she so eloquently reminded me that, "living in grace really does take a lifetime of learning, I'm convinced. Because it is SO contrary to what we think & believe. How could God love us that much? We think. Or surely what we do must somehow affect his love for us....but no. It's always the same. Because he is love. Because we don't get to choose whether he loves us or not...he just loves us. that's the way that it is. and even we can't change that."