If there is no God why would you waste your only reality being stressed? And if there is one why wouldn’t you trust Him, this “powerful being,” now? If you’re one of the two people I’ve just described you lack peace. Do we choose between life, death and peace? Peace is the very thing you need to achieve in life or death. You think the things you want will bring you peace? Do you think running from them will? Things will only add to the pressure; you’ll enter a cycle of needing more. Peace doesn’t settle, oh no, but it knows how to coast on it all; good or bad. Peace is a tool to the destinations you seek. It works hand in hand with faith, peace is an anchor where you stand and faith is a rope pulling you closer to where you want to be. With the New Year approaching you’ve probably had many failures and/or much success but what has it granted you; Has it been time spent or time lost or was it a little bit of both? With resolutions diving like anchors and obstacles surfing like waves, we can either sink or swim. I say regardless we may as well enjoy the ride. I know this year has been a lot and a little. You’ve been challenged, you’ve taken some victories and you’ve taken some hits. This is a good time to reflect, not to make mere plans you’ll never live but to see where your choices have navigated your life, responded to life and where you’re even headed. You must have vision. What things do you need to finally let die and what things, in you, have been DYING TO LIVE FREE?!
DESTINY AMONG US
Destiny: The power or agent that determines the course of events.
We can’t always control what happens to us but we can decide where we go from there. The destiny of great men isn’t so much about the castles they build but the life they live. We often wonder what life would be like if we came from better circumstances or even had a fair chance but when was the last time you stopped to think about what life WOULDN’T BE if we had those things? If life was just about perfection there would be no reward in the gain and gratitude would be of no value. If life was limited to consumption we would never grow because too much at best bloats where giving expands the space within. Goals are good to have but a life well spent isn’t arriving at a destination but living forever in destiny. If you’re doing it right each door leads to another hallway and another door. If you’re doing it right one door is just as amazing as the next. Its all connected.
Maybe this year you felt you didn’t do enough or accomplish enough. First, maybe you didn’t. Maybe you mismanaged your time and didn’t seize opportunities that were knocking. Maybe you let your habits stand in the way of your growth. This isn’t good. I know there are areas in my life I totally dropped the ball and I’ve had to face myself and say I was wrong. I’ve had to stop making excuses and grow up. I’ve had to desire the discomfort of knowing who I should be over settling for the comfort of not being good enough. I know and confidently say, in some areas I FAILED. You should do the same. And from there don’t accept it as who you are but begin to challenge yourself and put in the effort to BE BETTER. If you become better you will do better. You can’t just adjust your actions from some of these flaws, you have to renew your HEART/MIND.
And maybe you’ve done your best. You’ve really tried and even still failed in some areas. I learn daily that it’s not about our failures but the victory of our willingness. Sometimes you desire to do better and because you’re not there yet you fail. God really sees the heart. Not because He makes excuses for our actions but because he makes a way through them. Your heart is gold and God can spin the strongest quilt with it. Let your efforts catch you where you’ve fallen this year and even better let your efforts make up the difference where God and or life have let you down. Yes, God can let us down. Not because He wasn’t working but because we didn’t understand HIs plan. This happens and He can handle it. Life can handle your disappointment but you can’t afford to. Keep trying, it’s adding up. Your exception is not in vain.
You’re the dream that’s waiting to be, you’re a wave crashing on the scene. Your destiny lives as long as you’re willing to.
WHEN THE SMOKE CLEARS
Southern California recently endured several wildfires that left thousands of acres destroyed, homes destroyed, thousands evacuated and some even dead. As the fires raged I wondered what could remain. We already suffer drought, how could our plants make it through this? We as a people already fight so hard to gain what we have now, how could we bear to lose it? Then I remembered: The seed of life is what extends its legacy. That fruit falls but the root of hope can ways grow again which means We can live through anything. We can live forever.
If you drove the 405 FWY and saw the aftermath of the Skirball fire for sure you saw mountains full burned and blackened. So much was demolished. But if you took a second much closer look you would notice there was STILL plant LIFE. I actually noticed there wasn’t one large void of a plant survivor. This intrigued me and I wondered, what are the BENEFITS of these deadly fires.
This is what I found:
*Fires renew the soil, rest the clock for the ecosystem and revitalize the watershed. * Most young and healthy trees are resilient and have a growth spurt following the absorption of the weaker ones that have died. * Plants adapt and become stronger. *Rids the areas that were infested with insects or weeds. * What is burned can be used as nutrients.
I’m not saying I wish there were more fires or that we shouldn’t fight them but I am saying we shouldn’t fear the flames because what should, WILL REMAIN. Who you become through the fire is building a better you and renewing what you hold on to. Some weights aren’t meant to be carried. What you lost has served its purpose so find strength in what remains and build from there. Your best days are in front of you not in whats in the flames.
THE FINAL LAP IS THE BEGINNING
Every big thing starts small. We hear this a lot but still take more comfort in what’s big because it’s easier to see, but see that it takes a little bit of everything to achieve a life well lived. Each little bit you have is a detail and it is the details of anything that make it great, not the size. The quality of everything is found in the refinement of the details, the things we tend to overlook. The tallest building in the world without the proper infrastructure will collapse in the smallest breeze but a tree stump can last a thousand seasons. What have you overlooked that was there to actually help you? What failure is making you stronger? Where do you need to be humbled or simply reminded? Take a moment to remember the small things from this year and you just may find something big.
As this year turns the page know you can decide what will be written. It’s not the number of words on a page or how many you can make fit but what the story will tell. You are where you need to be to be great because the past, good or bad, can end good or bad…YOU JUST HAVE TO DECIDE. Will your little become a lot as you find ways to multiply it or will you starve at the thought of how much you can currently count? Never give up. We hear that a lot but too many of us stop at not giving up and never graduate to having more than enough. You have to unwrap what you wish to see. I don’t think many of us lack faith we just haven’t learned to use it. Remember everything you need is in the seed of who you are. Its always been in YOU not in whats been so you don’t have to die to finally have peace, peace is something you create with the faith you embrace. This day, this moment and the years to come use tools of identity. faith and peace to build, not just a life, but one you’re not too exhausted to live.