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…
It is much easier to change ourselves than it is to change others. When I am not pleased with what is going on around me, I look inward to what I am contributing and pray for direction and understanding. It is rare for someone to change at the suggestion of others. It is much more likely to create change from within. What that means is I have to be willing to create an environment around me that is something a particular person or others would like to be around. In most situations, kindness, love, and compassion create change in people…
Life is much easier to navigate when I take responsibility for my actions and words. I figure I am at least 50% to blame for the issues that arise in my life. Very often guilty about contributing much more when I am not careful. There are many issues I create that I don’t even know that I have created until it is too late. Even worse are the issues I have created that I am unaware of and have few ways to rectify. Included in my prayers is a request to make me aware of areas in which I…
My faith is and always has been a part of me. I have followed my intended path even when it was not my desired route. I don’t know how many times I have gone astray, but I sense when I need to regroup and move on. No matter how comfortable my situation is, I let it go and follow the next opportunity. Why do I step out in faith when my current situation is going just fine? Because I have surrendered to Jesus. I pray to be guided down my intended path. Once I surrender I am no longer…