It took decades for the real me to expose myself fully. Not even understanding that the real me was in disguise. I felt like I lived by the “Golden Rule” and genuinely attempted to do the right thing under all conditions. There were times I was wrong or off path, quickly adjusting to get back on track. I was a good person trying to live life with compassion. That life was interrupted and turned upside down. For most of my life, I was a leader. Someone who took charge when necessary but stayed in the periphery by nature. My predictable…
If you want to become closer to Jesus, it is simple. Not always easy, but very simple. It starts with love. Difficult things are going to happen, issues are going to arise, problems will need to be solved. Those are all things that happen in our daily lives. The difference is how we approach what comes at us each day. What is our perspective? Are we able, under all circumstances, to keep focused on love? Problems come to all of us in different ways at different times, and often they are only visible to us who endure them. Rarely do…
Have you ever been part of the periphery of a gathering, club, sport, job, culture, etc.? If you have, you know the feeling that starts to creep through your body as you fully understand that you aren’t within the circle of influence. That you are on the edge looking in by choice, because of fear, due to finances, ethnicity, or because you are new to the circle. There is some reason you are not part of the influential group. I have lived most of my life on the periphery. Much of that is by choice. But some of it…
It is difficult to keep out of the world of comparison. Around every corner, there’s another opportunity to explore what others are doing. It doesn’t matter how those opportunities arise, the view many of us see is the snapshot on social media. No matter how great or terrible the opportunity, it is the photo that people see. Viewing all the opportunities for comparison from the perspective of love helps us be happy for everyone’s moments of joy. In between the snapshots, there is a whole story that is not told. The story doesn’t need to…
A few days after dropping my daughter off at college, on the first day of classes, the students were notified that they needed to evacuate the campus for the hurricane. I started to read the social media comments from parents trying to figure out how to help their students evacuate with no cars or relatives in the area. My daughter was very fortunate that one of her local roommates offered to house 6 students. She managed the evacuation as a normal part of Florida life and had a plan. What was interesting was seeing how much more effective people were…
Every so often I need a wake-up call regarding assumptions. Similarly to judgments, I try to avoid assuming anything, but it happens. Most of the time I know I am making an assumption before I even finish my comment or thought. Why do I assume that I know what’s happening or how someone is feeling? When one sees an unfortunate situation the mind often goes to the negative. But what if the person was not looking at the situation as a negative? What if the event was considered a stepping stone to the next adventure? Or maybe a…
It doesn’t matter who they are or what they have done, God loves them. Over the last decade, I have made it a priority to redefine love to be able to put it first. To be compassionate in all circumstances. The beautiful thing is that when I feel love for all, I also feel peace. When I lose focus I also lose the feeling of peace. I am so addicted to living my life in a state of peace, that the moment I feel stress, worry, anger, etc., I know that I need to refocus on love. This past…
As I was walking with my dog Bailey some workers said, “Beautiful dog.” Another said, “Expensive dog,” and I replied with a smile, “Rescue dog!” The rest of the walk my mind was remembering perceptions that the girls and I had prior to falling in love with our current “fur ball.” I was a single mom with no desire to add another responsibility to my plate. However, I grew up with a dog and knew the importance of their unconditional love and the experience of being responsible for another life. I have always loved animals, particularly dogs, but as an…
In this fast-paced world of instant gratification, it can be a challenge to wait on the Lord. Prayer is personal. People pray in different ways. When our intentions are good and our actions are kind Jesus is grooming us to become closer to him. When we do something less than desirable, he is there to help us get back on our feet, we simply need to ask with good intentions and a perspective of love. Quick results are not always apparent. It is difficult to wait for direction, but in hindsight, my intended path has proven to be worth…
When we take the time to learn from the struggles that we go through, those struggles get us one step closer to Jesus, a place where we completely surrender. Our family watched my mother move through struggles daily, for years. What I found was each struggle brought my mother closer to Jesus. Each mountain we climb requires us to reach further and deeper into complete reliance on him. I was given the opportunity to help my mom live the last leg of her journey here on Earth. That journey opened my eyes to how connected she was to Jesus and…