A Joyful Mission

The Beauty in our Differences

I have had the pleasure of working with many beautiful people and none of them are perfect. These are people who go through life with open hearts and a-want to please others.

Who am I talking about? I’m talking about the many children and adults with disabilities that I have worked with over the years. The lessons that they can teach us are innumerable. This is what I’ve learned, so far, during that time:

They don’t pretend to like you, they just do. Their only requirement is that you show them that you accept them for who they are.
They don’t pretend to care about you, they just do. Their only requirement is that you show them that you care about them, too.
They have feelings and hurts just like all of us. I have found that they are more honest than us about what those feelings and hurts are.
They are more genuine that most of us “normal” people. They don’t have pretenses. What you see is who they really are.
They don’t pretend that they are better than you. They just want you to be their friend.
And lastly, but certainly not least, they want to know that they can be helpful to you in some way.

Every day, I am enriched by these beautiful people and the lessons that they continue to teach me about how to handle the differences that we see in all of God’s people in life. I like to think that God is testing us to see how we handle those with disabilities. I also like to think that they are God’s angels sent to earth to test us and for us to show our true selves in how we treat those who are not like us.

How we treat others shows the sort of person that we are. When we show compassion to another human being in whatever form that they come, then we are giving others a glimpse of our God in Heaven. God doesn’t see all of our imperfections, only humans do that. Instead, we have a God who sees the potential for what we could become, not as we are right now. (Related post: Seeing the Potential).

So, what did I learn from this? There are so many lessons to learn in life and some of my most memorable ones are the ones that involve working with others who are different than me. These individuals have shown me that beauty must go much deeper than the surface. They have also shown me not to take the simple things in life for granted. And mostly? They have shown me that love is so much bigger than hate.

What can you gain from this? Not everyone is able to work with those with a disability. Trust me, I get that! What I want for anyone who is reading this to understand, is that God made ALL OF US, special! He loves us for who we are, so, how can we not at least try to do the same for others? That acceptance of others is just a simple act that can make a HUGE impact in someone else’s life. And all you need to do? Make an effort and begin to look through life with a different lens. You might be amazed at what has, all of a sudden, become much clearer.

Realigning the Senses

On the website, http://www.thoughtco.com, the meaning of align is stated as an action and is defined as the following: “According to Goffman, an aligning action is something a person does to indicate that they agree with the existing definition of the situation. Simply put, it means going along with what is expected. A realigning action is something that is designed to challenge or change the definition of the situation.” In other words, when you realign something, then you begin to think about it in a different way. In essence, you have begun to change how you think.

In the terms of Senses, I am talking specifically about seeing, hearing, thinking, and speaking.

So, what does that mean that we need to realign the senses? Think about this for a minute… Too many times we: 1) hear but don’t listen, 2) watch but don’t see, 3) think but don’t understand, and 4) talk but don’t speak truths.

When we hear but don’t listen, we know that someone is speaking words but we may fail to take into account the feelings that are behind them. People are very complex and when we take the time to listen, then we may hear what that person is really going through in life. We can then better understand them and maybe give them a sounding board. It certainly doesn’t mean that we have to agree with what they say, but we can respect their right to say it. We can then stop our own selves from being reactionary and instead give compassion to someone who is hurting.

When we watch but don’t see, then we are only using our eyes and not our intellect to judge the situation. It’s difficult to be patient with other people especially when we are having our own trials in life. When we see what others are going through, then we may be better able to take a step back and view the situation in a different light or even look at our own situation and see it as not so bad. That has happened to me many times when I’m feeling sorry for myself then I will hear someone else’s story. It makes me realize that I need to just change my perception instead.

When we think but don’t understand, we aren’t fully discerning what may be going on in that person’s life. While it is hard to always agree with how some people deal with a situation, we also have to realize that life tends to be the best teacher. Actions have consequences and as we live our own life then we need to try and help to teach others about what we’ve learned. My best advice has come from others who have more experience than me. We also can’t “save” others from suffering consequences, but we can at least show them understanding from the lessons that they will be learning along the way. We can also let them know that they are not alone.

When we talk but don’t speak truths, we are showing others that we can’t be trusted. We are ruining our own credibility. The truth is sometimes difficult to hear or even to say, but we can’t change our own attitudes unless we are being honest with ourselves.

Change can only happen when we realize that there is a problem to be fixed. I like the idea of realigning my senses because it shows that I am trying to be a better version of myself. You can never go wrong with that.

So, what did I learn from this? I try to think about what I want to say before I speak. Does that always work? Nope. Sometimes, I go back and I think, “Gee, I should have said that differently.” or “I shouldn’t have said that at all!” We are human but the best part about being human? I have found that I always, always, always have the opportunity to improve myself but only if I am willing to do so. I am still a work in progress and I like that. It gives me hope and joy!

What can you gain from this? What do you want to gain? Is it more patience? More understanding of human nature? My hope would be that you can begin to understand that we all need to become better versions of ourselves even when we are on the right path already. We are all works in progress. Remember that you don’t stop learning and growing just because you are on the right path. You just keep right on getting better.

Unending Love

Who wouldn’t want to hear that there is someone out there who loves us completely, warts and all? In fact, we know that someone exists! It’s God and He loves us right where we are. He doesn’t give us a list of tasks to complete before He says that He can love us. Nope and that is what Much-Afraid (who later became Grace and Glory) learned in Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.

In The Faith-Fueled Journey, we know that the fifth and final lesson that Grace and Glory learned was, “She knew that when we accept, bear and obey the Lord, nothing can separate us from His love.” God’s always there for us regardless of whether we turn to Him or not. However, when we make the choice to have a Joyful Acceptance and we learn how to begin Bringing Good Out of the Bad and we obey God in our journey, then God knows that we love Him as much as He loves us!! We can then start Seeing the Potential and make A Healing Transformation. When you have a transformation, you are changed and don’t want to go back to the way that it used to be in your life. You have become more joyful! And no one can take that away from you!!

To me, the most enduring thing about our God is that He loves us where we are. Let me repeat that again…..He loves us right where we are. Now, why is that important? We don’t have to change to have the love of God. He gives it freely but He will show us even more favor when we understand this and begin to live our lives through the five lessons that I discussed in The Faith-Fueled Journey just as Grace and Glory did. It doesn’t mean that we will never go through hard times or have difficulties. It just means that we will know that we have a God who walks beside us during our life and carries us when we need Him the most. That, to me, is the most comforting thing of all.

So, what did I learn from this? By opening myself up to God, I am starting to “see” with more clarity. Do I know everything? Of course not! I truly believe that our growth continues to happen until our time on earth is done. I’ve always had a great relationship with God, but, now? It’s even better! Why? I know that God is calling me to do things that I wouldn’t have done on my own. He knows where my talents are and is using them to help reach others. When we open ourselves up to Him, then wonderful things, miraculous things, can happen!

What can you gain from this? There is always risk involved when you open yourself up to God. So, what’s the best thing that could happen? He will begin to help you put your talents to good use as well. The better thing that could happen? You might begin to like it.

A Healing Transformation

In The Faith-Fueled Journey, the fourth lesson that Much-Afraid (who later becomes Grace and Glory) learned in Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hubbard was this, “Everything that is deformed and ugly can be transformed into good with love (when we choose to lay down our own will).”

First, let’s look a little closer at the definition of transformation. According to http://www.merriam-webster.com, the definition for transformation is this, “the act or process of changing completely.” One of the first things that come to mind when I think about something transforming is, of course, the caterpillar that changes into a butterfly. That is a physical example of transformation.

But what about the transformation that we can have inside? Somehow, we can also have a transformation of the body, mind, and soul. So, who or what can help us get to that point? Counseling surely helps but I have also found that my faith in God helps me to be transformed.

For Much-Afraid, she discovered that “Perhaps that is the reason why we are here in this world, where sin and sorrow and suffering and evil abound, so that we may let you (God/Good Shepherd) teach us so to react to them we can create lovely qualities to live forever. That is the only really satisfactory way of dealing with evil, not simply binding it so that it cannot work harm, but whenever possible overcoming it with good.” (Related post: When hatred assails, God prevails). Isn’t that a kick in the pants? You are putting a positive spin on something that was meant to bring you down. The devil hates that! And do you know what is even better than that? The devil can’t control it when we tell him to take all of his evilness back to hell with him.

When we allow evil acts or deeds to bring us down, then we are giving it a chance to beat us. We must always remember that we are so much stronger than that, individually as well as collectively, but even more so when we know that we have God on our side!

So, what did I learn from this? With God, I can do anything! He gives me the power to overcome those who want to bring me down. He humbles me and lifts me up all at the same time. I have become a better and much stronger person because of it.

What can you gain from this? Don’t let those people who do bad things corrupt you or make you believe that you are less than you are. Remember that God has a plan for you, so pray and put all your pain and sorrows in His capable hands. You just might be pleasantly surprised by the results!

Seeing the Potential

God sees us not as we are but as we can be. Isn’t that an awesome thing?!? As I talked about in my post The Faith-Fueled Journey, this is the third lesson that Much-Afraid (who later becomes Grace and Glory) in the book Hinds’ Feet in High Places by Hannah Hurnard.

Too many of us don’t view others in the same way. Too many times we only focus on the outside of the person. Yes, they may be beautiful in looks or popular or even famous but that is only the surface. God, however, looks and sees far ahead. He sees the potential that we have to be changed through our Joyful Acceptance by laying down our own will to follow Him. He also sees that when we forgive others then we can begin by Bringing Good Out of the Bad. God sees what we try to keep hidden. He sees what needs to be changed but can only be changed when we give all of ourselves to Him.

Will we still have painful moments in our life? Absolutely! Just because we are or even become believers, we still must always remember that our bodies are human and our minds are full of the many things that are happening in the world today. We can’t escape the pain of life but we can get through it with the help of God. However, we still should have a need to trust God’s purpose in our lives. We also need to realize that He knows what we are capable of by Staying positive, when it is SO easy to be negative. We need to try and be more like God in seeing the potential in ourselves as well as others. You just might be surprised at how much better you could see the world once you do that!

So, what did I learn from this? I like the thought that no one of us is on a straight course in this life. I used to think that there was something wrong with me because I never stayed at a job for long periods (15 years was the most). Looking back now, I can see that with each job that I had, God was preparing me for this moment. He knew my potential before I was even born! I couldn’t always see it but He could and that is a very humbling thing for me. This blog really exists not because of me but because of Him.

What can you learn from this? This is hard to say, but please don’t compare yourself to others! I know, I know…. we all do it, anyway. It’s human nature to find ourselves wanting when we compare ourselves to others. The best thing that we can do is to see the potential in ourselves that God sees in us. You never know what you could do because of it. Always remember, though, that God loves us right where we are. So, my advice? Begin to believe that all things are possible with God, even when your life seems to be at its bleakest. He has a plan for you too.

Bringing Good Out of the Bad

In my post, The Faith-Fueled Journey, I talked about the journeys that we all must go through. So, what can we learn from them? In Bringing Good Out of the Bad, we will discuss the second of five lessons that Much-Afraid (who becomes Grace and Glory) learned in the book Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard.

The second lesson was this, “She learned that she must forgive the harm that others have done to her so that she could receive power to bring good out of the evil.”

So, how can this be related to us, and how we can find our own power to find the good in life?

We know that there is evil in this world. How? We see people who are cruel to those who are weak or helpless. We see people who murder or destroy lives through stealing, etc. Yet, I have found that the hardest thing to do is to forgive those who have done something personally to you. It’s so hard at times to let go of the pain that they have caused us to have. However, when we let go of it and give it over to God then we are assured that He will give us His grace and glory. So, then we can do all the good things that He knows that we can accomplish when we turn over our will to Him. (Related post: Joyful Acceptance)

When you turn your will over to God, you are telling Him that you trust Him to take care of you as well as those who have hurt you. Remember the saying “no deed goes unpunished”? This can help us to remember that there are always consequences for our actions, especially for those who have committed evil acts. (Related post: The time for reckoning is now). We all need to be held accountable for what we do in this life, but when you choose to forgive others then you are freeing yourself from any grasp that they have over you and you can learn to live a better and more fulfilling life that you want to live.

So, what did I learn from this? I have become a better version of myself when I don’t let others dictate how I should act or tell me what I should do. Instead, I rely on God for my path and God will not and never has steered me wrong. Is it easy to Let Go and Let God? Absolutely not! The thing is, is that the path is not easy because there are things that I have to learn. I won’t learn those lessons if I never struggle. This better version of myself has only come about because of my struggles! It has allowed me to see God in a whole new and amazing way.

What can you learn from this? This question may be better. “What do you want to learn from this?” I do know that we all have had struggles. Not one of us is immune to pain. However, the goal is to conquer it and then set it free so that we can then put God in control of our life in order to find the joy that He wants for us. So, what do you say? Do you want to give it a try?

Joyful Acceptance

If you read my previous post, The Faith-Fueled Journey then you know that I am going to talk further about the first of five lessons that Much-Afraid learned in Hannah Hurnard’s book titled Hinds’ Feet on High Places.

The first lesson that Much-Afraid (renamed Grace and Glory at the end of the story) learned was ” to accept all that has been done to her (in the past) and lay down her own will.” Let’s dig into this a little bit. Trust me, when I tell you it’s going to get a little deep because I will be sharing my own story and what led me to a deeper understanding of what this lesson means. This is only my interpretation. Your interpretation may be different than mine and that is okay.

So, at this moment in time, I had just recently turned 51. However, when I was approaching 50, I had begun to realize that it was such a milestone that it made me stop and think, “Hey, I’m getting close to being half of a century old! Holy cow!!!” That statement certainly can lead to some reevaluations of where you are in life. Yet, my story actually starts about 3 years before I turned 50. I had been a Special Education Teacher for 12 years at that time but started to feel “blah” (for a lack of a better word). The job just was starting to not be as much fun anymore. It’s somewhat deeper than that, but the main problem that I had had was I had assumed that I was going to continue with that job until I retired. So then 3 years later, I was still in the same predicament, essentially ignoring what I was feeling and trudging along. Then I switched schools and let’s just say, in a nice way, that the leadership there left a lot to be desired when it came to wanting to continue to work, period! Then I began to feel that God had a different plan in place for me, entirely. He had a different path that He wanted me to take. Boy was I scared! But when you’re miserable, it becomes very easy to jump off into the abyss and then hope that you can swim. It was actually, very much, like a leap of faith. I couldn’t change how some people had treated me so I had to learn to accept that, then I had to lay down my own will in order to follow the path that God had set for me. The joy has come in finding out that I am so much happier now than when I was doing what I thought that He wanted me to do for the rest of my life (or at least until I retired!).

We all have times in our lives when we need to let go of the pain of something or of what someone has done to us. If we don’t let it go then it just becomes an anchor that will continue to weigh us down. When we learn to cut those chains then we have learned to give our will over to a God who loves us and wants for us to be joyful in the span of our life on earth.

So, what did I learn from this? I’m not always joyful nor am I always accepting of what God wants from me. Yet, I know that He loves me regardless and I just had to have a deeper faith and trust in His path for me than I did before. God will knock on the door, but He won’t come in until we open it. I’ve always been a religious person, but once I opened that door more fully than ever before, then I’ve discovered that I have become so much better and happier with who I am and who He wants me to become. I closed my eyes and took that leap of faith and what a story that it has started to become! Actually, there is so much more to my story that I haven’t even shared yet! We’ll get to it, though…..eventually.

What can you gain from this? If you are struggling with something then I encourage you to find someone, anyone to talk to. Go get counseling in whatever form that works for you. That helped me, too and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. However, I also encourage you to open that door by getting on your knees and praying to God. He’s just waiting for you to understand that you need Him just as much as He wants and desires your love and respect, too. He’s just waiting for you to be ready to receive Him.

The Faith-Fueled Journey

All of us have gone on journeys to different places, but have you ever been on one where you don’t know the outcome or where you will end up? This is something that I have been going through in the past year. I have discovered that this particular journey has been more a journey of faith than any physical journey that any one of us can take. (Related post: Which is the better choice, the destination or the journey?)

I have recently been reading a book by Hannah Hurnard, titled, Hinds Feet on High Places. This story is an allegory which according to Oxford Languages is defined as “a story, poem or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one”. In this story, the main character, Much-Afraid, has a desire to travel to the High Places to be with the Good Shepherd. However, to do that, she must develop hinds feet, but because she has deformed legs and a disfigured face, she will need two companions to help her on the way. Over the course of the journey, she will need to learn to overcome her own fears as she goes through many dangers. Once she has overcome all the dangers and reaches the High Places, she is given a new name. She is now called Grace and Glory.

So, what does this story have to do with having a faith-fueled journey? I have found that it is my journey as well. I have found that I can be so much like Much-Afraid (not yet, Grace and Glory). I have found that sometimes in making that commitment to take a step in a different direction or to follow a different path, can be very hard especially if you don’t know where the path that you are on is leading you! I have come to understand that it must take a lot of faith to step out of my comfort zone and to trust that God has my best interest at heart. (Related post: Why are we sometimes so resistant to change?)

At the end of the book, there are 5 lessons that Grace and Glory learned during her journey. In the next few posts, we will explore each of these lessons in further detail.

She learned to accept all that has been done to her (in the past) and lay down her own will.
She learned that she must forgive the harm that others have done to her so that she could receive power to bring good out of the evil.
She saw that the Lord/Shepherd saw her not as she was but as she could be.
Everything that is deformed and ugly can be transformed into good with love (when we choose to lay down our own will).
She knew that when we accept, bear and obey the Lord, nothing can separate us from His love.

So, what did I learn from this? Everyone is on a journey in life. When we reach for God to help us get through that journey, then we can more easily find our joy in the life that we are living. We can get rid of our old selves and be made new. We have become transformed and are fueled by our faith in a God who is ever-loving and welcoming. God will always love us where we are, but He will always, always, always welcome our willingness to change and be made better.

What can you gain from this? There is always some degree of pain when we go through changes. Just think about the struggles that a baby goes through when they are learning to walk. They frequently fall down and may hurt themselves at times, but they continue to practice even when it is hard! That is what faith is all about. You don’t know what you could gain if you never try, in the first place.

Having a hopeful heart in trying times

What a crazy couple of years it has been! At times, it has been super hard for me to have hope that things will eventually get better. I’m sure that many of you have had that same thought as well.

Then, I was listening to K-LOVE, a contemporary Christian radio station, in which they were asking their listeners what the meaning of “hope” was to them. Many people called in to give their thoughts describing it but what really struck me was that the DJ gave the actual definition then said that we need to have “a hopeful heart”.

What do you think that she meant by that?

So, I started thinking that “a hopeful heart” could mean that we know that something good will come that balances out the bad that happens, but sometimes we aren’t looking for it. We can’t “see” this hope because we have only been “seeing” the bad stuff that is happening in the world and in our own lives. We need to get back to trusting that our God has a purpose in all that He does. It’s just hard for us to discern that purpose because we have stopped believing or trusting that He wants the best for us. It is only through going through our lowest points that many of us begin to turn to Him. We need to see that God is with us through all of it, not just the bad stuff. (Related post: Traversing the hills and valleys of life with grace).

There are lessons to be learned and they can be very difficult for us to face. To me, it’s like God is giving us constructive criticism but we are being too stubborn and not wanting to hear Him trying to correct us. (Related post: The time for reckoning is now). We only have a finite time on earth in which to figure it out, so be very sure that you aren’t wasting precious minutes! Give all your struggles back to God and help your heart to heal through hope in His loving guidance.

So, what did I learn from this? Having hope actually gives me the courage to face my fears and to know that He gives me the power to overcome them. Do they go away? No, of course not! But I know that I am so much stronger when I know that God is on my side and that I am following the path that He wants me to follow. (Related post: Just going with the flow….)

What can you gain from this? Answer this question instead. Don’t you want to have hope instead of fear? Seems like a pretty simple thing to answer, but I can’t do that for you. You have to make that choice. Remember that God gives us free will, so my advice is to make those choices wisely.

Where there is faith, there must also be works

Faith and works go hand-in-hand. In the Bible, we were told in the Letter by Saint James in James 2:18, to which he states, “Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.”

You see, it’s not enough to just have faith. We need to demonstrate that faith through the works that we do for His people. The works that we do can also help to increase our own faith in God even when it may seem like an impossible task. (Relate post: Why is it SO difficult to have faith, when we are faced with SO many things to fear?)

There are a lot of people on this earth who are lost and need to be found. Can we save all of them? No. However, we can try through showing them the love of God that they are missing. We can pray for them in the hopes that they may begin to see that the direction that they are heading is wrong and detrimental to their everlasting life. According to Revelations 22:12, which states, “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense to each according to his deeds.” (Related post: The time for reckoning is now)

The mistake that I think that some Christians make is in how they approach people who aren’t believers. People, generally, don’t like to be yelled at and told that they are going to Hell. That is a surefire way to not get people to come to God. It’s not our place to judge them (which sure is difficult, to say the least), but that’s Gods job and I think that He’s pretty capable of handling it. If, instead, we can just use compassion and show care and concern to guide them toward God, then we have been doing something.

So, what would that actually look like? Sometimes, it’s just a kind comment or laugh with someone. It could be giving out food to a hungry person. It could be sharing of your time and money. It looks like a helping hand toward another person. It’s making a connection that may brighten someone else’s day. It’s whatever works for you but you need to remember that when people are lost from God, they don’t want to be scared into coming to Him. They need to see what God shows to each of us. After all, think about what made you want to become a Christian. We need to show God to others through our kindness and through giving a helping hand when we see that someone is in need. We need to listen to their journey through life with an open mind and compassion for what they have gone through. This is what God does. In fact, we have the very best role model in the way that Jesus taught his disciples. We should do no less for those around us who are lost and wandering.

So, what did I learn from this? In giving, I have been receiving as well. There’s a fullness in my heart that opens me up even more to God’s promises. I just have to be open to the opportunities that arise. Am I always successful? No, of course not, but that doesn’t keep me from trying! I have also found that I’ve gotten more successes than failures at this point. In doing God’s work, I have found that my faith in Him has gotten stronger.

What can you gain from this? Joy can be very contagious. If you’ve heard someone give a good strong laugh, then, you should know, that it’s very hard not to laugh or smile along with them. Just that, can start a lightening of your own mood and could help you on your own journey in life as well.

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