Have you ever been in the situation that you have so many options you do not know which way to turn? Some are obviously not good at the time, but then there are the ones that could be viable and helpful, yet is the timing right or realistic? In this day of information overload, I can so identify with this quandary. There are a multitude of online educators vying for our attention for their solution to our particular problem, hoping to cash in our limited budgets. The end result is our attention is so fragmented that we cannot realistically understand whose solution is the one we need.
The overwhelming plethora of choices can often result in fear…fear of not making the right choice but also fear of making any decision at all. We stall and balk at looking at the subject. We walk the other way or take the long way round in order to avoid anything to do with our problem. This can relate to anything in our lives, from business decisions to personal relationships to life’s milestones. How do we overcome this? First, we must realize that the Wisdom we need in this situation is not our own. We need Discernment that comes from God. He is fully aware of the issues, the options and the questions we have. Yes, there are a thousand and one people with human answers, but we only need one, the one that fits our life right now. By ourselves, we are not equipped to sort through the lists that are available. There are not enough hours in a day or a week or a year. However, our Heavenly Father has the Perfect Answer tailored to our unique life just waiting for us to Ask Him for It. God is Love and Perfected Love Casts out fear. God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of Power and of Love and a Sound Mind - the Mind of Christ. God wants to be involved in our lives and bring sanity to us. Each of us needs a sound mind to operate in this past paced, highly pressurized existence. In and of ourselves, we are incapable of it and we need Super-natural Ability to Do so. When we step aside and Allow God to enter into the equation, yielding our will to His Will, things Change…the parameters of the problem fall into place, the competing solutions collapse until the only one you need remains. It all makes sense where none seemed to be before. Our heart rate slows and a sense of Peace that surpasses understanding in the human realm settles into our spirit and soul. “If we let it” is the key statement. Are we willing to take our hands off the steering wheel long enough to Listen to God our Father and then Do what He Told us to Do? Do we Yield our will to His Will for our life? Believe me when I say that it is so worth it. It saves time, energy, money and Brings Peace and Satisfaction. Although seemingly counterintuitive, taking away your control and handing it over God puts you back in control of the situation. Fear leaves God’s Presence and Power and sound thinking return when Love enters the picture. Who is really the master of your life: fear or Love? Let Love reign in your life and things will Change. Thank You, Lord.
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The sun has been scorching hot in the past few weeks. Weeks, not days. And really hot too.
It got me to thinking. If I have to work inside in my home office, that sunshine is a lure to draw me outside, to be anywhere but my office. On the contrary, if I am working in my garden, that same sunshine drives me to seek shade before I melt into a puddle of sweat. It is sweat, ladies, not perspiration, when you are weeding your garden. There is nothing lady-like about it. When I am holidays, sitting by the pool or the ocean or a pristine lake, that sunshine is a blessing. I know that at any time I feel too hot, I can slip into the water to refresh me and cool my body temperature to a reasonable level. While working outdoors, edging my walkway or painting my deck, that same sun is punishing and depleting my body fluids. It looks like an enemy to be avoided as I repeatedly retreat into the house to find relief. What is the difference? Perspective. How I view that same sun is dependent on my perspective of what activity I have to do in it. Pleasure or toil. Is there an easy way to cool down or do I need to remain working until I am on the verge of heat exhaustion? The same thing happens in life. If we have a job that started out enjoyable, something we would do as a hobby, we loved doing that work. Over time, this same source of income can turn out to be toil and turmoil due to time constraints and demands from unreasonable people. How we view that same activity can now be dramatically different depending on our attitude. If we grow to resent the demands on our time and energy, we will eventually loathe the work we do. If, on the other hand, we choose to look at the same activity from the perspective of the people we are serving, we have the opportunity to turn it all around. I will give you an example. I love to make jewellry. It is a creative outlet. I started making extra pieces to sell. Then came the Christmas season and I needed multiple necklaces to have on hand for people to purchase. It soon became a chore to anticipate the styles, sizes, colours and designs that might best capture a customer’s eye when passing my table at a craft fair. It was all about perspective. I was now making the pieces to satisfy a market rather than crafting them for individuals to enjoy. I was no longer looking at how I might bless someone with a unique item to complement their wardrobe, but it was source of stress. I immediately realized that I needed to transform my attitude in order to maintain the joy of the activity. Anyone of us can do this with any of our jobs. We can think of the person who will ultimately be blessed by what we do or we can just resent it and let it become toil and pain. If I am a garbage pickup person, I can take each day as an opportunity to serve the community to keep it clean and healthy or just see it as menial labour that barely pays the bills. At any given moment, the choice is ours make. Perspective means everything. Choose wisely. It will change your life and so often, transforms the lives of those around you. Each of us can make a difference! |
AuthorJudith Utman is the author of Voices in the Wilderness. Archives
April 2020
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