From storm to storm what shall we be

     How fragile is life? For the past few years I knew that personally and intimately. I didn't mind the struggles because for some reason I just plugged away at it. You know, you just keep swimming because, well you have to! When my wife suddenly became sick, that was a shocker. Her body, her immune system finally broke down all because of my stroke, the stress.

     Here I am looking down at my wife, watching her as she seems so lifeless, so withdrawn, no energy. She was the pillar for the last few years, being the real trooper, the sergeant in the midst of a war. Now things have turned, it may be for a short while but it has turned nonetheless. How do we overcome such obstacles, such walls of hurt? Well let me tell you something beautiful, something sweet. When I saw my wife lying there, I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and that this was my moment to shine! It may sound crazy but what I mean is this, I have the chance to show my wife how much I love her and how much she means to me. I sat beside her bed and I rubbed her for some time, the minutes turned into hours and all I wanted to do is let her know that I am by her side! As the tears welled up in me, I just told myself "you can do this for her, be the strong one now!" It is funny how life can teach you how to be brave in so many different ways. You just never know who you really are until you face the storm! Will you hide, cringe and maybe even fall to the way side or will you suddenly stand up and raise your shield, your sword and fight! Become bold and brave....

     We all face adversity, it is those moments that truly define you, the depth of who you are and are not. Most see affliction, suffering, trials and pain as a negative; all too harsh reality for losing ones spirit. I say it is the perfect opportunity for being the person that God has called you to be. Will you answer, will you step out of the boat and live a life of bravery! Are you willing to be different? Well I am going to run all those cities because now I know that this is what i was meant to do. It is time to shine like the stars and after being hard pressed on either side, this makes the journey even sweeter, more precious. Thank you God for being my strength, being my everlasting hope! 

Matthew 14:29

You can rise above or sink into a world of fear but inevitably you must choose!

The Moments in Between

Todays post or thought is very short and hopefully sweet. 

"People don't like change unless it is in their wallet" by EvK

      I said this after working in the hospital for a few years. I noticed peoples behaviours were almost all the same. When one little thing changed they were up in arms. Surprisingly enough the cheerful patients were none the less scathed. Now it seems trivial but I was impressed by this. The happy go lucky people were simply that....happy! They were the kind of people who simply didn't let things bother them, they had much more important things to do like laugh and share their excitement for life with others. Have you ever noticed when children are completely involved with their toys and everything else simply doesn't matter? They are engulfed in mystery and excitement, the world is at their fingertips. Children are amazingly filled with dreams and imagination, not lost in worries or debt or what have you. They live and breath life! They bend so easily to many circumstances because they are excited. Is your life filled with worries and doubts and fears or are you willing to live with a heart encapsulated with joy, wanting to see what leaps from around the corner? I will choose to be the duck and let my worries fall away... 

Crabs in a bucket

Working in the hospital was wonderful for me and the experience with working alongside such a marvelous group of people was beautiful. I loved every minute of it and the patients new it. It was written on my face, I felt like I was making a difference in peoples lives. The strange thing that followed was sad but true, as I began to get appreciated for my happy demeanor and my positive outlook my partner became less and less excited. I could see that she was becoming bitter and unkind. I read a story about crabs pulling each other down in a bucket and it made me think of this very situation. In fact I think that recently I saw that behaviour again, it is surprising to me but not shocking. Either people honestly wish for you to do well in life or they secretly feel that they don't wish for anyone else to do well except them. I call those kinds of people LIFE suckers, they don't know how to genuinely wish for others to do well unless they can benefit in some small way. Personally I think that that life choice is damaging in so many ways, they desperately pull whoever is trying to reach the top of the bucket and they quickly pull them down. There lives are filled with desperation and sadly they have a void that desires constant attention. I personally believe we need to surround ourselves with people who lift us up and likewise we ought to do the same. It becomes synergistic, basically we ignite one another with encouragement. You can either choose to encourage or remain lost in a small world of crabs, wanting only to live in a bucket.