What I Know to Be True. . .

 What I Know to Be True

 

One of my personal mission statements has been, “Life is about 10% of what happens to you, and 90% how you respond to what happens to you”

I have never had to actually live that out until this last year. In the process I discovered saying that and actually living it are two different things!!!  We all experience tests, challenges and failures in life. Many times the very thing we fear is what we experience. What is important is how we choose to respond.

What I know is true:

•   I am tougher and stronger than I realized. My skin has become thicker!
•  The whisper of depression is very subtle. This realization has caused me to empathize with those who suffer from depression and heartache.
• The Holy Spirit truly is a comforter, a voice of reason and hope.
•  What I think is very important.  My thoughts are the powerhouse of my course of action.
•   I can laugh in times of trouble.  Laughter really is a medicine for the soul.
•  I am humbled by forgiveness, and I have gained new understanding of the power of forgiveness.

 

Life is a fantastic journey. The mode of transportation I choose is up to me. I would prefer to travel in the comfort of a sleek, smooth 700 series BMW. But what I have experienced at times has been a beater/Junker of a car with bad tires, no AC, an ugly interior and rough exterior. Would I trade cars for the journey?  No!! I would not have the experience, the growth, the knowledge I have gained, nor would I know the people I have met along the way. This I know to be true. . .

Whatever difficult road you may be traveling in your life right now, do not give up! There are people and situations coming your way to help you grow, gain insight and to provide the encouragement you will need to keep going. If you choose to make a u-turn in your journey, you actually are going to miss a great opportunity for personal growth. So hang in there!! Tie a knot at the end of your rope and hang on!  

This is what I know to be true. . . .

Validate

Validate. . .     This word has many different meanings and values to each one of us.

Have you ever requested to be friends on Facebook and not get a confirmation?  Or, have you noted that your followers on Twitter dwindled down to nothing?  With the world of Social Media so prominent, I find it can be easy to equate worth & be validated by who is following you on Twitter, or “friending” you on Facebook.

Really. . .  how silly is that of me?  It’s really rather immature and sophomoric.  It feels like being in Jr. Hi again. Heck! I’m in my mid 50′s!  So what does that say about me?

I looked up the word validate and here is what Webster’s definition states: To make valid, substantiate, to approve or confirm.   It is very subtle how we can look for validation or significance and not even be aware of it.  What kind of handbag do I carry, what color is my credit card, what kind of car do I drive – eternal “toys” that send a message I am successful, a person of influence. I can easily let Social Media, things, etc. to define who I am.

Since I am a Christ Follower, I am very humbly reminded in II Timothy 2:15 what God says about approval: Give diligence to present yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, handling aright the Word of Truth.

Bottom line. . .  it only matters to me what God says – to present myself for God’s approval. That’s it!  All the fluff of things I think are important, really aren’t.  What I set my mind to daily think & respond to – does it approve unto God?  That’s my ultimate validation because it is eternal.  Life is too short to get spooled up about trivial matters.  I’m doing my best to have a much bigger mindset of what I give my attention to and what defines me.

Love to hear your thoughts and perspective.

Keeping it real, keeping the growing going!!

Expectation

Recently, I met with someone who explained to me that I had disappointed them.  I have had to work on not being a “people pleaser” or an “approval addict”.   So when we discussed this issue further, I was told that there was an expectation of me & when I did not do what was expected, I disappointed them.  That was tough. I apologized, but I also explained that I never meant to disappoint them, but sometimes things just don’t work out.

I have really been thinking about this for several days.. . .  Expectation can be wonderful and it can be horrible!!  Yesterday, I spoke with a very soon-to-be mom and she was “filled with expectation” of her new baby.    So within a couple of days, I had witnessed the positive & negative of expectation.

I looked up in Webster’s to start with a definition of expectation: the act or the state of expecting.  Then I checked synonyms related to expectation, & boy, was I surprised!! Words like: assumption, chance, confidence, fear & hope.   Sounds like negative and positive – just like I experienced recently.

So this has had me thinking.  When I have expectations of others, I can easily be putting on them a potential burden, responsibility & pressure.  Not accepting or respecting a person’s choice and or,decision.  On the other hand,  I have a heart of expectation of my future, that my past is the past and I can move on & look to the future.  I can also “release” my expectations of others, by allowing them to be who they were meant to be & not tie them up with my personal expectations.

Psalms 62:5 states: My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. I’m choosing to expect & hope in God, knowing that HE has my back, HE knows my future, when I put my trust & rely on Him, I will not be disappointed.

Expectations . . .  you get to be the one to choose how you are going to excercise how to have positive or negative expectation.

 

Heart of Gratitude

Today is my first day of blogging!!  I would like to start with ” a heart of gratitude”.

I think of authors who list all the people to thank for help making their book a success, or, at the Academy Awards & the winner will have a scribbled, wrinkled piece of napkin or paper to thank all the people who got them to the place of winning an Oscar.  In anything of life, we usually do not arrive  & become “an overnight success”.  It takes time, effort, setbacks & comebacks & many people who helped you along the way.  You didn’t ”arrive” all on your own.  There really is no “me” but, rather “we”.

I am a thinker, a navigator, always strategizing what course to take, what decision to make.  What is the right way, what is best for me .   What really matters is, if I have found value in listening to others to learn.  Taken time to be still & pray & find direction.

I am so thankful for the many people over the years that took the time, paused in their busy life to listen to Sherry, me.

I hope that in the future, my blogs will be a place that you will be encouraged, challenged, and to stop & ponder over things going on in your life.  We have one life.  Live on purpose, with a purpose!!