Like baseball, life isn't just fastballs right down the middle of the plate. Every now and then God will toss in a good curve ball of His own. Yesterday was just one of those days, I was looking for the fastball and then BOOM curve ball, strike three.
It's 4:37 AM and I got off of the phone with my mom a little bit ago. What is she doing up at this hour you ask? She coaches swimming at the crack of dawn, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Anyway, I've had a difficult time sleeping this evening and after we chatted for a while she made one simple suggestion. Pray. The power of prayer is so remarkable.
God is...
All knowing
All powerful
Forgiving
Faithful
Protective
Creator
The list goes on and on.
Life is like a Polaroid picture. We develop a spectacular idea of how we think a picture will turn out, but a minute later when the picture comes in to focus we see the real picture.
Often times we become content with developing our own picture/plan before the real picture has time to develop. We can develop our own plan all we want but the majority of the time our plan may not be God's plan.
I encourage you to take comfort in prayer, quite the stress reliever if you ask me. Cast all your anxieties on God and let Him worry about them.
I'll close this entry by something I stumbled across about a year ago that really puts things in to perspective.
Memo From God
To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE
I am God.
Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.
Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic; don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what life is all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!
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I may have swung and missed at the curve ball, but God never will and will knock it out of the park every time because His plan is PERFECT.
I'll close this entry by something I stumbled across about a year ago that really puts things in to perspective.
Memo From God
To: YOU
Date: TODAY
From: GOD
Subject: YOURSELF
Reference: LIFE
I am God.
Today I will be handling all of your problems.
Please remember that I do not need your help.
If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved, but in My time, not yours.
Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now.
If you find yourself stuck in traffic; don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.
Should you have a bad day at work; think of the man who has been out of work for years.
Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.
Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.
Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.
Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.
Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what life is all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.
Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!
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I may have swung and missed at the curve ball, but God never will and will knock it out of the park every time because His plan is PERFECT.
Nicely put Brandon. I always try to forgot about the smaller things that can stress me or worry me to no end and I always remember much of what you have said. I do my best to live my life as happy and as meaningful as I can because there are always people out there who need the joy that I can bring to them more then I need anger or sadness. And for some strange reason I always know that whatever is ahead of me, what ever challenge, I know that things will plan out as intended just as they did for me to come to the point I am at now. You may look back on yourself in 5, 10, 15, or 20 years and realize that everything that has happened to you could have been the best things that could ever have happened in its own strange way. The events in our lives that really challenge our emotions and challenge our beliefs are what outline the people that we are in the present. And every event no matter how horrific or saddening or joyful can really prove to strengthen and prepare us for whats next down the road, wherever that road may lead. I don't mean to ever tell anyone how they should look at life or how they should feel, but only to lend my perspective as a way to, hopefully, provide further relief. I hope that what I have said has helped even in the slightest manner.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Chief