Knowing God's Plan

Life's Like This — Sometimes the paths that God sets for our lives are not the shortest, most direct routes, or at least that is how it appears. Quite often, we want to get to our destination on our own time schedule rather than exercising the patience needed to arrive at our destination according to God's plan. Knowing God's plan for our lives and what blessings He has in store for us are questions that many of us seek to know the answers to. It would be nice if we could just give God a phone call, or meet Him for a cup of coffee to discuss questions we have and to learn all the details we need to live our lives fully and in accordance with His plans for us. But God does not work that way; He wants us to exercise faith and trust in HIs Word that whenever we come before Him in prayer, that He will hear us and answer the burning questions we have in His time and in a manner that He chooses. And He wants us to know that He has our back, that He is always looking over our shoulder, keeping an eye on the road ahead, and speaking to us through the Holy Spirit with words of comfort and guidance as we face the trials of life. If truth be told, most of us are not willing to wait on God. We want His blessings now, on our own time schedule, and in a manner or way that we choose.

Keeping The Faith

Life's Like This — Faith is oftentimes a battle, especially in the midst of overwhelming grief. It has been said that nothing on this earth lasts forever, except perhaps the love you can hold in your heart for one of God's creations. Such is the love I have in my heart for my beloved Golden Retriever, Sweety. If ever there was a dog that could capture the hearts of people she came in contact with, Sweety was such a dog. For over seven years, Sweety lived up to her name. Not only did she enrich the lives of my family and friends, but she touched the hearts of countless others with her beauty and loving personality. Sweety was a true blessing from God. On July 5, 2012, Sweety went to “Doggy Heaven” after being diagnosed with Osteo-Sarcoma, a bone cancer that left her lame and with a poor prognosis of leading a healthy and quality life. But while she is now gone, the memories of how she touched my life are firmly embedded in my heart and mind. And for those memories I am deeply grateful. And yet, coping with her loss is a daily struggle, one that I wish I did not have to go through. Sweety was such an integral part of my life. All around me are reminders of things we did together and of the life we shared since she was six weeks of age.

Veterans of Life

Life’s Like This — When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better. Life can be so unpredictable. Dreams that your life was built on could be dashed by circumstances beyond your control and leave you feeling depressed and without a purpose in life. There is no way to tell when and if your dreams may be fulfilled. The best we can do is to be prepared for the unexpected and to realize that life happens and that despite our best efforts to fulfill life goals, that sometimes our plans don’t turn out as we had hoped for. And when our dreams don’t materialize, we have a choice — do we give up on our dreams and spend the rest of our lives complaining about what could have been, or do we chart a new course, one that is full of hope for the future and that serves as a springboard for a new sense of purpose for our lives.

Celebrating Memorial Day

Life’s Like This — It seems that each year, in the face of a holiday from work and the leisure activities it offers, we have to remind ourselves why we celebrate Memorial Day. The day itself is meant to be a reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that America’s men and women have made in the service of their country. Yet, for most of us, the true meaning and observance of Memorial Day has been relegated to the side-lines, one that has been supplanted by trips to the mall for advertised sales, laying out at the pool, picnics, and other events that have nothing to do with the honoring of those that sacrificed their lives in the defense of our country. But for those who have lost loved ones in service to our country; for the millions of veterans who know first-hand the hardships of military service; and for those American’s that understand the emotional toll and personal sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, Memorial Day is about honoring those that gave their lives so that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms we have as Americans.

The Blessing of Maggie

Life’s Like This — Blessings come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. As humans, we have a need for companionship unlike any other creature on this earth. God must have had this in mind when he created us and then populated the earth with all kinds of living creatures, especially those that we have domesticated and have taken into our homes to love and care for. It should come as no secret that cats and dogs have taken a place in our families and that our attachment to them can be as strong as their human counterparts. These precious creatures each have their own unique personalty and characteristics that make them who they are and have a way of forming an emotional bond with us that is unbreakable. While some people might gravitate more to dogs that have come to be known as “man’s best friend” — cats with their independent spirits, can evoke a bond that can be just as strong as a dog. I realized this recently, when my wife and I made the difficult, but timely decision, to have Maggie, our 17 year-old cat euthanized. It was a decision that caused a swelling of emotion and flood of tears that I had not expected, tears for a cat that was unlike any other cat that I had known.

God's Precious Gift

Life’s Like This — With all the blessings we can receive from God, the blessing of forgiveness is perhaps the most precious gift of all. It would be quite difficult to go through life and not be offended or hurt by someone; It may be a stranger, co-worker, friend, or even a family member that causes you distress and feelings of animosity. Whatever the source of pain, the act of forgiveness can free us and allow us to go forward at peace with ourselves and at peace with the one that caused the offense. A story of profound forgiveness was beautifully portrayed in the film, “OctoberBaby” in which a young woman was faced with choices after learning, not only that she was adopted, but that she was almost never born because of a failed abortion attempt. As a result of the failed abortion, she had to cope with numerous health conditions that made life difficult for her. But upon learning the reason for her health problems was directly related to the failed abortion, this young woman set out on a mission to find her birth mother and to try to understand why she was not wanted by her. Along her journey of discovery, she comes to understand how she could finally be free of her anguish by extending the simple act of forgiveness.

 

The Gift of Christ

Life’s Like This — There is no obstacle in life, predictable or unpredictable, that can’t be conquered with a spirit of hope and determination. We all go through life hoping that it will be filled with experiences that have the least amount of adversity and disappointments. Unfortunately, life will always present you with your share of adversity — it’s inevitable– but what is not inevitable is how we face the adversity we are confronted with. Finding boundless joy and happiness in life is something we all long for and that we should strive for, but when circumstances arise that create situations that are unpleasant and difficult to deal with, we are faced with the choice to either rise above the situation and conquer it, find some middle ground to cope with the situation, or give up in defeat and allow ourselves to succumb to it in despair. For many of us, the easy road is to give up, to throw in the towel, to sweep it under the carpet, to rid ourselves of the problem by walking away from it and pretending that it no longer exists. In reality, problems are never solved by walking away from them and pretending that they magically disappeared. The presence of sin in our lives is one of those problems that encompass so many of the short-comings and failures that we must confront in life. We then need to decide if we are going to be victors over the sin, or allow it to rule our behavior and lead us down a path that can further separate us from God.

Walking With God

Life’s Like This — One reason that our struggles in life are so difficult is because we think we have to make the journey alone. We fight to maintain an independent spirit, an “I can do it myself” attitude that often makes our walk through life more difficult and perhaps even more lonely. We think that we have all the power and all the inner strength to weather any adversity, any storm and any tragedy that is thrown in our path. But the truth is, we all have a weak link — that part of us that can snap and leave us bewildered and overcome with a flood of emotions and challenges we can’t cope with. And when that day comes, we struggle to find a way out of the dilemma we find ourselves in and often cry out, perhaps silently, for someone or something that can lift us out of our darkness and despair.

Often, when we are caught up in despair, when we cannot see any hope for the future or to get us out of the crisis we are in, we turn to unhealthy behaviors or choices — alcohol, drugs, sex — to find some relief from the pain that has engulfed us; choices that are temporary fixes and do nothing to address the pain and suffering that we are trying to find some kind of relief from so we can heal and move forward with our lives.

Living For Christ

Life’s Like This — With all the temptations in this world, it is often difficult to live your life for Christ. There is probably no greater way to honor God than to live your life as a reflection of His love. If you profess to being a Christian, as I do, you have probably heard in countless sermons how we should repent and turn from our sins. I see Christians all around me, people that seem to be living Godly lives — people who are diligent in studying God’s Word, who by every appearance seem to be walking the walk, who are involved with numerous church ministries, that can quote scriptures as if they have photographic memory, are able to pray the most beautiful prayers, and that have a spiritual demeanor and countenance that reflects a true devotion to following Jesus Christ. To be honest, I find myself envious of these people — as much as I want to live my life for Christ, I find myself plagued with a sinful nature that is relentless in its attempts to seduce me with the temptations of life. As much as I want to break free of the bondage of my sins, the influences of the world and my personal weaknesses prevent me from truly honoring God in all that I do. And when I am caught up in sin, I often wonder if I am truly a Christian.  

Embracing Our Gifts

Life’s Like This — Some people have gifts that we simply don’t have. I’m not speaking of material things; I’m talking about talents in any number of things that people can use to enrich their lives and those around them. This morning I was reading an article entitled, “Isn’t Life Beautiful.” What struck me about the article was the descriptive language, personal anecdotes, and tone of writing the author used. It was a beautiful and well-written article, one that if I am to be honest, find myself envious of. I often wish I had a command of the English language and ability to describe things in a way that others have. But my gifts, like your gifts, are unigue to our lives. The way we use our gifts, no matter how great or small we perceive them to be, is what really matters.