Most of us are walking on empty eggshells in our life, (I've been there) hoping they don't crack any further or we won't be able to deal with life as it is. I ask this question, not to bring up old wounds or make a person compare their life with someone else's but to offer some reasonable suggestions or wisdom that can help us navigate this life, at this age, and at this stage. And to remember, we all are on fragile ground, (disappointment, trauma, hurt, physical and mental pain, rejection, etc.) I could go on but this is not a blog meant to bring up old wounds but to help us move past them so that we can have a better quality of life from here on. My motto: "I want to live a simple but extraordinary life." It may sound like an oxymoron (something that is contradictory) but it's not. Let me explain. A simple life is peaceful, embraced and structured without added drama. An extraordinary life is having purpose, choosing God and joy daily, finding what lights you up and doing that, constantly claiming your queendom everyday, (in spite of our ugly and downright tragic behavior, God still love us), seeking positive outcomes for our life daily through believing God's truth and not the world's lies. All this is possible through Christ our Lord. The problem is, do you really believe it?
In case you're thinking I'm trying to proselytize you (make you a Christian), I am not. I just like to get out of the way, what my values are. If they don't resonate with you, then this blog is not for you. No hate or disrespect intended, just making choices.
What do I know ? you ask, not much but I believe I can help us navigate this stage since I'm there too. First of all, let's get four things outta the way:
1. It is not possible to be joyful 24 hours a day. God never planned it that way. He knew we would wrestle with our faith, self doubt, anger, bitterness, etc. so to be able to maintain that without God's spirit all day is probably not going to happen. But what can happen is that you have more up days than down, more up moments than down and you allow the holy spirit to bring you back to the level that you were at through your thought process, your meditation on truths. I like to call it, redirecting your energy, letting God's spirit have its' work in you.
2. Your life will not magically become better and all your problems will not disappear but what will happen is that God's spirit will transform your mind and heart so that you worry less about the problems and He will give you or help you find a possible solution to your problems. Yes, all of them....in his timing.
3. God through Christ saves our souls but he gives us some choice over how we steward those souls through our decisions and actions. We cannot "see" God the way we see others physically that's why he tells us to have faith. To believe, even when we cannot see it. "Faith without works is dead." In Hebrews 11:1 faith is defined. We cannot expect God to do a miracle when He's waiting on us to do our part. We act, and we believe. We should always do the part we can and the part we can't leave up to God.
4. God doesn't seem to act in the way we want, when we want and how we want so thus we need to learn patience. I can hear you know. I was patient. It was taking too long...I get it and I feel you. However, to my understanding according to biblical understanding with a little wisdom thrown in, it is only those who don't give up, that get the prize. We either wait, or make foolish decisions because we're not getting what we want, when we want it and how we want it. The secret sauce, keep being persistent. Christ used several points of reference for this: In Luke 18:1-8 Christ talks about the persistent widow and how her prayers were answered.
Now that those three things are out of the way, we can talk.
Awww the Simple Life is:
PEACEFUL
Peace is not the absence of drama. It is not cloistering yourself in your house and never dealing with others. Peace is having drama around you but not letting the drama in you. A better way to describe it...."Cool, calm and collected." What I mean is that you don't let people, circumstances or problems dictate how you feel about life and or yourself. It means setting boundaries to things that will try to take away your peace, and that includes people too. If you don't achieve this, you will always be wondering why your life does not add up. By giving our problems and issues to God, we survive and can be peaceful in an unpeaceful world. He promises that He will gives us this peace in Philippians 4:6.
EMBRACED
Do you embrace your life's circumstances. No, you don't have to like them, agree with them or the outcome or even resign to believing there is no hope. But you do need to be realistic about the circumstances and trust God and His hope to help you accept, change or rise above them. Embracing just implies being ok with your situation until God tells you something else or He does something else. Be joyful in tribulation---why because we know that God WILL ALWAYS come through for those of us who seek His face.
God rewards those seek Him! (Hebrews 11:6)
God never forsakes those who seek Him (Psalm 9:9)
God delivers those who seek Him from all fear! (Psalm 34:4)
A structured life means to have a routine and a purpose. When we retire, life can become bland without any structure to it. Once we stop the everyday cycle of working and it's time constraints, we are free to do what we want. The problem becomes, what to do with all that free time, structure it. That's right. Plan out your time so that you have a schedule daily even if that schedule says take a nap at a certain time. It's your time, your life. No one has to tell you what to do anymore. That's the beauty of it but also the danger. A life not lived becomes a depressing and unfruitful life. I don't believe God destined us to live that way. In all this structure we should focus on three main things. What is our purpose for the day, what pleasure we want that day, (within reason) and what will bring us peace. A structured life also sets boundaries that don't allow people pleasing. If you have a schedule stick to it unless it's an emergency. People usually find a way to get what they need without you. This is not a reason to be selfish and inconsiderate, just know when you are available to help and let it be known.
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