I am glad you came to visit. I will share from my heart today. I believe that my understanding of life is limited to what I have learned up to the present time. I do not have the big picture, nor will I ever. I can not see into the future, nor project outcomes. I may amuse myself at times by thinking I can, but reality has shown otherwise. Reality reminds me that all I have is now.
I have found that my best interest resides outside of me. My experience has shown that when I trust the God of my understanding — since He has the big picture — I can rest. Although I may not know or understand why something has occurred in my life, I can trust the process. Therefore, each day — to the best of my ability– I turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. I then pray for the knowledge of His will for me and the power to carry that out. By making this decision, I believe that I will get what I need. By making these two decisions, I trust God to reveal what steps I need to take for that day.
Someone recently asked me to share how I was able to overcome obstacles. He wanted me to summarize the steps that I took to overcome and succeed. I wrote back and told him that I had no special formula. I just decided to not give up. I applied tenacity and determination to learn and find the necessary resources to enhance my life and to be of service to God and my fellow man. To be honest with you, for quite a few years I was quite frustrated by the results that I thought I was getting through trusting God. I applied myself with diligence to equip myself, however I felt like someone all dressed up with no where to go. No avenue to give what I had learned. I now see that God was preparing me to be apart of this blog to share my experience, stength and hope with you. I truly believe as someone has said, that it is not of us, but through us.
One of my truths that I share with others, when I get a chance is that the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step…so I keep walking. I also encourage others to keep walking, literally if not figuratively. Keep doing what you are doing and before long you will be able to look back and see how far you have come.
More is yet to be revealed so don’t give up on the process. You are a gift to your world!
Determination
I have heard it said that success is not how many times you fall down, but how many times you get back up. The meaning of this statement once baffled me, as I believed that success only happened if I warded off feelings of shame. Perfectionism, rather than excellence, had been the driving force behind much of what I attempted. Attempting to be perfect often resulted in my believing that I was a failure. The fear of failure also impeded my attempts to try new activities. Anxiety had been a familiar companion motivated by the fear that I would never quite measure up.
Since that time, I have come to believe that success is not defined through achieving perfection. Today I believe that my success is tied to my determination to learn. Consequently, every circumstance in my life can provide an opportunity for success. When I stay determined to learn from what I encounter, I succeed. This change has freed me to celebrate the process one-day at a time. I may never reach perfection in anything that I attempt, but that no longer matters. Instead, my pursuit of excellence will continue as long as I am willing to learn.
In this pursuit, I have found that it is essential to stay connected to the God of my understanding through prayer and meditation. New determination and courage are gained when I rely on His grace and leading. I no longer need to pursue grandiosity or perfection in order to prove something to anyone, including myself.
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