It was a good example (retrospectively, of course) of how easily things come together when one is moving in the direction of God's will. It has taken many years to truly learn that when everything seems difficult and feels as though you are swimming upstream, it is usually because you are not following the direction of God's will. When you are doing God's will, everything seems to happen without much effort or many obstacles.
The only scriptures she was able to focus on in the hospital:
First--"Rejoice always." 1 Thess 5:15
Later in the day--"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thess 5:17
Finally--"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God's in Christ Jesus for you" 1 Thess 5:18
Even the most terrible circumstances and events can stimulate great change in individuals and/or societies. Without observing cruelty, we would not be moved to compassion. Without personal trials, we would not develop patience or faithfulness. It is the recognition that our earthly concerns matter little when compared to life eternal that allows us to know joy in the midst of sorrow and worry. Have you ever really changed or experienced personal growth during times of comfort or complacency? The acceptance that change rarely comes without difficulty and challenge can truly free a person to "rejoice always." It also allows us to live daily with a grateful heart and "give thanks in all circumstances." No matter what the circumstances, we can be grateful that God fulfills His promises, that our faith is sufficient to sustain us, and that our eternal life is assured.
The stories of almost everyone who has spoken with me began with some sort of traumatic situation. This is fairly predictable, and it is unfortunate that we rarely have such intense spiritual connections except under conditions of dire stress. I believe that anyone can have the same connections and experiences that I have had, but I think we are too distracted by the world around us when we are under "normal" circumstances. When we are in dire circumstances, these distractions quickly fall away and we are able to discern that which is most important: our relationship with God.
Ultimately they must not only find God, but must freely choose to accept God's love and direction. God gave humans this ability to choose freely, which makes us ultimately responsible for our choices, our actions, and our lives.
People ask why so many miracles occurred in ancient days but not in our present time. I contend that there are just as many miracles occurring today, in the lives of ordinary people. But I also assert that most of us don't look for miracles, don't recognize them for what they really are, and don't really believe them to be of divine origin even if their miraculous nature is noticed.
My life's experiences would argue against the concepts of coincidence and luck It would support the belief that there is only the guiding presence and plan of God, who uses His assortment of angels and messengers to lead us and communicate with us.
King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that "people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end" and I would heartily agree. We live our lives in forward motion, but only understand them when looking backward. I would therefore challenge you to keep a six to twelve month journal of coincidence. In that journal write down the details of every "coincidence" you experience. In one column, write the details of each major event in your life...What are/were the circumstances surrounding your acceptance into college, meeting your significant other, finding your job, choosing where you live, and so on. Note every time the arrangements easily fall into place. Similarly, every time you struggle with a situation write down the eventual outcome. Write down the "bad" things that happen to you or others and, in an adjacent column, list what happens as a direct or indirect result of these bad things. I believe that when you look back through your journal at the end of your exercise, you will clearly see how many of people, events, decisions, and outcomes are interconnected. I think you will see a pattern of linkage that cannot be attributed to statistical chance. You will see evidence of God's work in your life, giving assurance that God has a plan for your life. you will begin to recognize coincidental events for the miracles they really are, and you will know that God is with you even in times of sorrow, loneliness, or other misfortune.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
How Will You Measure Your Life?
For those of my classmates who inadvertently invested in lives of hollow unhappiness, I can't help but believe that their troubles stemmed from incorrectly allocating resources. To a person, they were well-intended...intending to build a satisfying personal life alongside their professional life, making choices specifically to provide a better life for their family, they unwittingly overlook their spouse and children. Investing time and energy in these relationships doesn't offer them that same immeiate sense of achievement that a fast track career does. You can neglect your relationship with your spouse, and on a day-to-day basis it doesn't seem as if things are deteriorating. Your spouse is still there when you get home every night... In fact, you'll often see the same sobering pattern when looking at the personal lives of many ambitious people. Though they may believe that their family is deeply important to them, they actually allocate fewer and fewer resources to the things they would say matter most...
It's rarely easy. Even when you know what your true priorities are, you'll have to fight to uphold them in your own mind every day. For example, like many of you, I suspect, I'm naturally drawn to interesting problems and challenges. I can lose myself in one for hours...but I know that spending my time this way is not consistent with my priorities. I've had to force myself to stay aligned with what matters most to me by setting hard stops, barriers, and boundaries in my life--such as leaving the office at six every day so that there is daylight time to play catch with my son..I have to be clear with myself that the long-term payoff of investing my resources in thie sphere of my life will be far more profound.
...there is no one-size-fits-all approach that anyone can offer you. The hot water that softens a carrot will harden an egg. As a parent, you will try many things with your child that simply won't work. When this happens, it can be very easy to view it as a failure. Don't. If anything, it's the opposite... Instead, you have just learend what does not work. You now know to try something else.
Intimate, loving, and enduring relationships with our family and close friends will be amont the sources of the deepest joy in our lives. They are worth fighting for.
The relationships you have with family and close friends are going to be the most important sources of happiness in your life. but you have to be careful. When it seems like everything at home is going well, you will be lulled into believing that you can put your investments in these relationships onto the back burner. That would be an enormous mistake . By the time serious problems arise in those relationships, it often is too late to repair them. This means, almost paradoxically, that the time when it is most important to invest in building strong families and close friendships is when it appears, at the surface, as if it's not necessary.
Each of us can point to one or two friendships we've unintentionally neglected when life got busy. You might be hoping that the bonds of your friendship are strong enough to endure such neglect, but that's seldom the case. Even the most committed friends will attempt to stay the course for only so long before they choose to invest their own time, energy, and friendship somewhere else.
I genuinely believe that relationships with family and close friends are one of the greatest sources of happiness in life. It sounds simple, but like any important investment, these relationships need consistent attention and care. But there are two forces that will be constantly working against this happening First, you'll be routinely tempted to invest your resources elsewhere--in things that will provide you with a more immediate payoff. And second, your family and friends rarely shout the loudest to demand your attention. They love you and they want to support your [career] too. That can add up to neglecting the people you care about most in the world. If you don't nurture and develop those relationships, they won't be there to support you if you find yourself traversing some of the more challenging stretches of life, or as one of the most important sources of happiness in your life.
"Treat people as if they were what they outhg to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."--Goethe
It's rarely easy. Even when you know what your true priorities are, you'll have to fight to uphold them in your own mind every day. For example, like many of you, I suspect, I'm naturally drawn to interesting problems and challenges. I can lose myself in one for hours...but I know that spending my time this way is not consistent with my priorities. I've had to force myself to stay aligned with what matters most to me by setting hard stops, barriers, and boundaries in my life--such as leaving the office at six every day so that there is daylight time to play catch with my son..I have to be clear with myself that the long-term payoff of investing my resources in thie sphere of my life will be far more profound.
...there is no one-size-fits-all approach that anyone can offer you. The hot water that softens a carrot will harden an egg. As a parent, you will try many things with your child that simply won't work. When this happens, it can be very easy to view it as a failure. Don't. If anything, it's the opposite... Instead, you have just learend what does not work. You now know to try something else.
Intimate, loving, and enduring relationships with our family and close friends will be amont the sources of the deepest joy in our lives. They are worth fighting for.
The relationships you have with family and close friends are going to be the most important sources of happiness in your life. but you have to be careful. When it seems like everything at home is going well, you will be lulled into believing that you can put your investments in these relationships onto the back burner. That would be an enormous mistake . By the time serious problems arise in those relationships, it often is too late to repair them. This means, almost paradoxically, that the time when it is most important to invest in building strong families and close friendships is when it appears, at the surface, as if it's not necessary.
Each of us can point to one or two friendships we've unintentionally neglected when life got busy. You might be hoping that the bonds of your friendship are strong enough to endure such neglect, but that's seldom the case. Even the most committed friends will attempt to stay the course for only so long before they choose to invest their own time, energy, and friendship somewhere else.
I genuinely believe that relationships with family and close friends are one of the greatest sources of happiness in life. It sounds simple, but like any important investment, these relationships need consistent attention and care. But there are two forces that will be constantly working against this happening First, you'll be routinely tempted to invest your resources elsewhere--in things that will provide you with a more immediate payoff. And second, your family and friends rarely shout the loudest to demand your attention. They love you and they want to support your [career] too. That can add up to neglecting the people you care about most in the world. If you don't nurture and develop those relationships, they won't be there to support you if you find yourself traversing some of the more challenging stretches of life, or as one of the most important sources of happiness in your life.
"Treat people as if they were what they outhg to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."--Goethe
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