The First of a Few

I believe that one of the essential keys to happiness and forward progression in your personal and spiritual life, is to learn how to enjoy every single bit of it. Not easy. Also, not a common way to think- and it is understandably uncommon. It is not in human nature to casually walk in to semi (or not so semi) uncomfortable or dangerous situations and not feel the urge to run, escape or abandon the mission entirely. The only truly "unpleasant" situations I can think of that a human being even entertains the idea of marching in to are childbirth and war.... but it is a wise man who enjoys every stage of life, even waiting.

As you get older, you either get better at this theory on life, or you move further from it. Surely, a lot of the propulsion or magnetism towards the idea depends on how you were taught, but not all of the responsibility of your older years falls on your younger ones. I am living proof of this. (Even if you didn't get it from your parent, you can ALWAYS get it from God- who parented you first.) We all get to make choices, and anyone, if they want to, can change. Moving towards this spirit of patient attentiveness to everything, and quiet reverie, pleases God tremendously- as He has taught this lesson to many men and women throughout history and in our biblical text. God loves a good "then and now" story. He loves to take a person who says, "No, I am always going to be miserable, there cannot possibly be anything for me. Get away, I don't need you"- and then make them in to a fully content, whole, beautiful individual, who changes his day and his time. Think of the Moses, Jobe; the disciples. Not terribly "gifted" (by societies standards), no one special, average- even dense. Peter, who was scared in his mortal skin at the time of Christ's crucifixion, became, with time, brave and mighty in God's light. The man, who at his time of execution DEMANDED to be crucified upside down (um, ow. Hardcore, power to you.) as he felt he did not deserve even the same manner of death as Jesus, is the same who ran and denied years earlier. What changed inside of Peter, and so many others, is that God taught Him, day by day, and moved Peter toward a spirit of understanding. Every stage of life has a specific purpose, and it is designed to help you conquer the next. When we think of the hard times in our life this way, as awesome lessons God is teaching us- to turn us in to amazing creatures we never thought we could be, how can we not begin to enjoy even the harshest of things? If we love and trust Him, then we know that His intentions for us are perfect, and no amount of suffering can last forever.

More on the importance of waiting later. For now, I am going to enjoy this stage of my day, and see what God has to say to me. I hope you do the same. :)