While watching "Sky High" tonight, a question floated in to my subconscious.
Am I a hero or a sidekick?
Odd question for one who doesn't even possess the power of glowing in the dark or turning into a hamster (if you haven't seen the movie, go see it!).
Deep down, all of us mortal and extremely fallible beings wishes to be more. From the guy with two teeth at the truck stop to the old guy pumping gas at the Midway Gas-N-Go, we all want to be something we are not.
It's as if who we ARE isn't enough.
Do we ever truly know what our 'power' is?
How much of our life is spent looking at the stereotypes placed before us and wishing we were the popular one or the cute one or the one who had all the friends?
We want to be taller, shorter, thinner, heavier, blonder or more brunette or just more - period.
Whatever we are, we have come to believe it isn't enough.
Who says so?
Satan. The Father of Lies. It is his job to make us miserable like he is and the only way he truly accomplishes his diabolical purpose is to make the divinely created Child of God we are feel like we are nothing.
We buy potions, lotions and cremes of all sorts. We run, walk and pump iron trying to keep off even a miniscule reminder that age is part of the bargain of coming into mortality for our turn here on the earth.
Egos are bruised and hearts shattered when we just don't measure up to the airbrushed, photo altered perception of reality we are spoon fed from the time we open our eyes at birth.
It doesn't have to be an either/or proposition and it doesn't have to make us losers if we are always found in the supporting role instead of the lead part.
Sadly, all of us have taken a heaping helping of the "I'll never measure up" tonic that makes just getting through daily life harder than it has to be.
Who's yardstick are we supposed to be measuring our progress by anyway? Satan's? He is our ENEMY! He would have us believe that not only are we sidekicks by designation but that we are piss poor even in that.
He wants us to grovel, suffer and while away our lives wishing for something better because it completely blinds us to all that we truly are.
God, the Father, did NOT send us here to fail or fall. He sent us here as a loving parent knowing that part of our learning would be in leadership and part would be in learning to follow willingly. There will be bumps, bruises and tough times. But we are not alone on our path.
Through all of the hardship, our loving Elder Brother is right there coaching us along. Whisperings of the Holy Spirit encourage us with messages of hope, faith and the promise that not only are we enough, we can become more than our feeble mortal dreams could imagine - if only we are willing to push off the blinders of our enemy and embrace the hope of those who truly love us enough to help us grow through our struggles.
I don't have to have a cape to be a hero. And it doesn't make me lesser to be the sidekick when it's another's turn to be in charge.
If I can remember that when times are tough, I think it will all work out just fine.
January 15, 2011
January 14, 2011
Hopes and prayers
A new chapter begins in the professional life of my husband. Rick begins a new job today in Decatur.
In the wake of losing employment in what we thought was a secure environment, we now realize that security on the earth is a pipe dream and that our higher hopes and expectations ride on security in heaven.
The sales job is in very familiar territory. He will be selling floor covering again. It is an area of expertise for him and he will do well.
In my heart I know this. I just feel like I'm waiting to exhale in a sense. Everything happened so fast, I'm a little afraid I'll wake up only to discover that it was wishful dreaming.
The Lord God Almighty is mindful and this miracle and blessing of employment is a Godsend for certain.
It is to God I give all my praise and all the glory.
In the wake of losing employment in what we thought was a secure environment, we now realize that security on the earth is a pipe dream and that our higher hopes and expectations ride on security in heaven.
The sales job is in very familiar territory. He will be selling floor covering again. It is an area of expertise for him and he will do well.
In my heart I know this. I just feel like I'm waiting to exhale in a sense. Everything happened so fast, I'm a little afraid I'll wake up only to discover that it was wishful dreaming.
The Lord God Almighty is mindful and this miracle and blessing of employment is a Godsend for certain.
It is to God I give all my praise and all the glory.
January 9, 2011
Blessings and Trials
It is the human, carnal nature of man to hash over ad nauseum the trials that we face personally, professionally or hidden in the recesses of our hearts.
It is also human nature to wonder "why me?" when something unpleasant occurs. It's as if our emotional maturity scale reverts to 3 years old any time we are faced with the realities of life that have scarred others but to which, until this point, we had been spared.
The reality is the question is incorrect from the start. It shouldn't be "why me?" but "why not me?"
No one wants to endure trials. We feel like God should love us enough to provide us a free pass from the suffering that others different from us must suffer. But in truth, we aren't different from them. We are just waiting for our turn to show our Father in Heaven that our faith in Him isn't based upon circumstances but upon the affections of our hearts.
Often, as members of the Church, we tend to take a long view of the sufferings and trials of the early years and think how noble those pioneering Saints were.
While some of our 'hero worship' is justly ascribe, I think too much of it negates the fact that they, too, had their questions and their times of lonely, aching wondering concerning how long and how drastic the trial they must endure would really become.
Like ripping off a bandaid by degrees, sometimes life is just filled with rude little shocks and temporarily painful moments. I say temporary because nothing here is permanent. We were not meant to stay here in this mortal state forever. That is contrary to the laws of God.
What we were intended to do is press forward in faith DESPITE our circumstances and remember that in our little ship of state we have a choice regarding who's hand is upon the tiller guiding us through the stormy seas of life.
We can trust to our own 'arm of flesh' and our puny understandings, or we can trust that Someone has our interests at heart and desires us to grow closer to Him.
We can trust that while there may be bad times to wade through, we don't have to become bad people as our response.
We can choose ahead how we will act and what our course of action will become.
Martha Custis Washington said it well: "I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions and not on our circumstances."
I believe that to be true. Some people wear their trials on their faces like some sort of badge of suffering. Others choose to keep their struggles between them and the Almighty and a few close 'prayer warrior' friends.
Either way, you can direct your personal disposition.
We have our own little basket of assorted issues right now. Job loss, possibly for a long time, worry over how we will pay bills and take care of our debts, and just the day to day that makes life exciting.
Even in the midst of a patch of personal discomfort, it doesn't seem to be much use to whine and carry on about it. Because despite whatever we may go through in mortality, if our spiritual house is in order, everything will be alright.
The reverse isn't true though... if our spiritual house is in ruins, no amount of money and worldly security can even out the balance sheet to let us into the straight path and narrow gate.
I'm thankful for a lot. My husband and family, who are my home no matter what house or dwelling we live in, for the blessing of liberty and freedom to be stoic, whiney or just walk along in faith one step at a time. I am thankful that I have something to eat and something to wear.
And I'm thankful to have some time to realize that everything we have is a stewardship granted to us from God above. There are others who lack all that we have in abundance but who radiate the gospel light.
I hope my candle of faith remains both bright and strong. I desire it to be no matter what the circumstances.
To that end, I share this by Louisa May Alcott : "A faithful friend is a strong defense; and he that hath found him hath found a treasure." Our most faithful friend in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of hardship and in times of joy is our Savior and Redeemer. And our Father is not one step behind in His friendship to us as we struggle through mortality.
In them is my eternal treasure.
I only hope to one day be counted as theirs.
It is also human nature to wonder "why me?" when something unpleasant occurs. It's as if our emotional maturity scale reverts to 3 years old any time we are faced with the realities of life that have scarred others but to which, until this point, we had been spared.
The reality is the question is incorrect from the start. It shouldn't be "why me?" but "why not me?"
No one wants to endure trials. We feel like God should love us enough to provide us a free pass from the suffering that others different from us must suffer. But in truth, we aren't different from them. We are just waiting for our turn to show our Father in Heaven that our faith in Him isn't based upon circumstances but upon the affections of our hearts.
Often, as members of the Church, we tend to take a long view of the sufferings and trials of the early years and think how noble those pioneering Saints were.
While some of our 'hero worship' is justly ascribe, I think too much of it negates the fact that they, too, had their questions and their times of lonely, aching wondering concerning how long and how drastic the trial they must endure would really become.
Like ripping off a bandaid by degrees, sometimes life is just filled with rude little shocks and temporarily painful moments. I say temporary because nothing here is permanent. We were not meant to stay here in this mortal state forever. That is contrary to the laws of God.
What we were intended to do is press forward in faith DESPITE our circumstances and remember that in our little ship of state we have a choice regarding who's hand is upon the tiller guiding us through the stormy seas of life.
We can trust to our own 'arm of flesh' and our puny understandings, or we can trust that Someone has our interests at heart and desires us to grow closer to Him.
We can trust that while there may be bad times to wade through, we don't have to become bad people as our response.
We can choose ahead how we will act and what our course of action will become.
Martha Custis Washington said it well: "I have learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions and not on our circumstances."
I believe that to be true. Some people wear their trials on their faces like some sort of badge of suffering. Others choose to keep their struggles between them and the Almighty and a few close 'prayer warrior' friends.
Either way, you can direct your personal disposition.
We have our own little basket of assorted issues right now. Job loss, possibly for a long time, worry over how we will pay bills and take care of our debts, and just the day to day that makes life exciting.
Even in the midst of a patch of personal discomfort, it doesn't seem to be much use to whine and carry on about it. Because despite whatever we may go through in mortality, if our spiritual house is in order, everything will be alright.
The reverse isn't true though... if our spiritual house is in ruins, no amount of money and worldly security can even out the balance sheet to let us into the straight path and narrow gate.
I'm thankful for a lot. My husband and family, who are my home no matter what house or dwelling we live in, for the blessing of liberty and freedom to be stoic, whiney or just walk along in faith one step at a time. I am thankful that I have something to eat and something to wear.
And I'm thankful to have some time to realize that everything we have is a stewardship granted to us from God above. There are others who lack all that we have in abundance but who radiate the gospel light.
I hope my candle of faith remains both bright and strong. I desire it to be no matter what the circumstances.
To that end, I share this by Louisa May Alcott : "A faithful friend is a strong defense; and he that hath found him hath found a treasure." Our most faithful friend in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of hardship and in times of joy is our Savior and Redeemer. And our Father is not one step behind in His friendship to us as we struggle through mortality.
In them is my eternal treasure.
I only hope to one day be counted as theirs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)