As I sat down to write to write tonight’s post the wind is howling on the ridge above my home. I can hear the wind chimes ring loudly in the front porch. There’s a storm on the way. That’s the reason why I chose the picture of our local lighthouse. Lighthouses are the iconic representation of hope in the storm. I can’t look at a lighthouse without having a sense of peace and security. (That’s why I incorporated a lighthouse in my business logo.) Finding peace during a storm one of life’s necessities. It helps to have a lighthouse to provide a fixed point to focus on. Metaphorically speaking, we know that there will multiple storms in our lives. We will need that beacon of hope to focus on and guide us through the fog and blinding rain. For me, Christ is my lighthouse. That doesn’t mean that there’s never a storm. But it does mean that I have a fixed point to focus on and find that peace again.
Tag: emotional wounds
Overcoming
I was taking portraits for a friend last year at a track and field event. It was a nice overcast day. Perfect for outdoor portraits. As usual I was challenging myself to push the envelope on my skills and the competition provides plenty of opportunities. I was never a person who could compete in feats of agility and I’m always fascinated by the hurdles. I was a large framed man by age 14. 6 feet 3 inches tall and 250 pounds of muscle that could not jump. Needless to say that I found the petite young lady pictured here quiet impressive with her skills. Shortly after the picture was taken another wave of athletes came through gracefully bounding over the obstacles. I heard a voice behind me comment that she wished she could jump as well as the others. I turned to see the girl in picture. She had never saw herself competing. She didn’t know how well she did on the same course.
Most people are stronger than they know. Most people have never seen themselves through the eyes of another.
Let me tell you now that you were born to be a champion! Just because you have not seen yourself as a champion doesn’t mean that you’re not winning.
Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you don’t jump well. That s okay. Jumping just isn’t your competition. My sport was American Football. I could tackle and protect the quarterback. The jumpers didn’t always do well in my competition. Maybe you’re not an athlete at all. Well, I’ll bet your smart, funny and talented in other ways.
Whatever it is I want to know that you’re just as capable of success as anyone else. The rest is just practice and dedication to the goal.
I never planned to publish this image. But all day today I felt like God was telling me that someone needs to be encouraged. There’s a hurdle in your life that you don’t think you can overcome. God wants you to know that He gave you talent and abilities to succeed. Just practice and prepare. When it’s time to jump you’re gonna make it.
Strong in the Storm
It the middle of a open field on the property where I grew up stands this lone Yellow Poplar. Now, I presume that quite a few people won’t understand why that’s a little odd. These trees do not resist strong winds very well. They tend to be found in clumps. Alone, this tree has no protection against storms. And yet, it’s been there surviving everything the weather can throw at it. I’ve seen it covered in ice, heavy snow and blasted with cyclone strength winds. This tree should have broken a very long time ago. Yes it’s got a few battle scars. These are reminders of the storms that failed as it stood defying the gale force winds.
Sometimes we wonder why the storm happened in our lives. There will always be a storm. But branches and leaves will grow back eventually. Like this tree our strength isn’t in the branches that can be broken. Our strength is in our strong roots than anchor us in the storm.
Final Hour
Tonight’s blog post is going to be straight to the point. I ran into lifelong friend today at a restaurant. We decided to share a table and take time for a visit. The conversation eventually came around to dealing with mental health issues. As a medical professional she posed the question, “What if I told you that you only had one hour to live ?”. On the surface that might seem to be pretty bleak perspective. But, it’s a question that makes you examine your priorities. You see, whatever it is that you would spend your last hour on Earth doing is the thing (or things) that are the most important to you. Everything else is secondary.
Nobody is promised that they will live into old age. Every hour that passes could be our last. But the odds are that most of us will live for at least a while longer. We can either let that time slip away until there is nothing left or, we can fill each passing hour with as much of the things that are truly important to us as we can grasp.
And one more thing. Those things that are beyond our control. Let them go. You deserve to be happy. Don’t let yesterday’s regrets prevent tomorrow’s joy.
The image above was chosen for a reason. It’s the intersection where I had my life changing accident. I was given a second chance to appreciate the here and now. Just a few feet away from this spot is my crushed and broken pickup truck. Today, I’m giving you the green light. It’s time to leave the broken things behind and continue the journey.
Be Still
If you haven’t guessed by now my dear readers, I really crave quite places and time to think and reflect.
Our modern world is full of artificial concerns, pressures and deadlines . Sometimes we just want to collapse and think about nothing. The word amusement literally means to stop thinking. However, I believe it’s more fulfilling in these quiet times and places to push back those modern world concerns and contemplate deeper levels of thought. It’s not that our world suffers from too much thinking, we suffer from the lack of free thoughts.
It’s more than just learning the structured teachings of learned masters. It’s more than equations and mathematical prowess.
cogito, ergo sum ( I think, therefore I am) – René Descartes
The popular phrase was one that we learned at a very young age. I have forgotten if it was in history class or literature class. But it wasn’t until recently that I began to realize the full implications of what seems to be a simple concept.
If my thoughts are what makes me then what happens if my thoughts are not my own? What if I allowed my thoughts to be influenced by distraction from the media, or peer pressure, or any number of competing ideas? Like a virus, some ideas can come in from a outside source and replicate themselves in our hearts and minds. If our thoughts are no longer our own then we are no longer ourselves. We become a copy of whatever ideas are planted.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” – Proverbs 23:7
This is why it’s so important to be able to take time and contemplate the ideas we are exposed to. Our minds have a natural filter that must be cleaned and refreshed on a regular basis. If bad ideas are allowed to linger for too long without active examination they can be absorbed by the subconscious and work their way into our hearts.
Take charge of your quiet time and don’t get so busy that you forget to check your filters.
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