Endure the wait...it'll be worth it.

For those of you who know me, patience is one thing I’m short on.  I don’t like to wait, especially if it involves something I really want to do or something I really want done.  I want to do it now or I want it done now.  Not ten minutes from now or six months from now, I want it now. 

I’m finding, as I get older, that patience is something that you must have because we’re constantly waiting on something, the cashier at the checkout stand, the waiter at a restaurant, the kids to get in the car, wait, wait wait is all we seem to do.  So patience is something that we’ve either got to use or we learn to develop it so we can use it. 

Now, just this weekend I was sitting in a seminar, listening to a speaker discuss his life and how he’s had to WAIT on things to take place over a period of time in his life.  He said that after a certain amount of time things begin to change, and now he feels that his life is full and complete.  When he said that it hit me like a ton of bricks; he had to wait over time.  Then the thought hit me; like waiting for a flower to bloom.  You don’t see the beauty in the flower until it’s fully bloomed.

Have you ever watched a rose bud as it turned into a beautiful, fully bloomed rose?  It’s not a pretty thing at first; it’s a green knob looking thing on the end of a stick.  Over a few days that knob begins to take on the form of an upside down diamond, with green leaves holding onto a green bulb.  Over the next few days, the leaves give way and the bulb begins to open and you can see the red pedals as they begin to open up.  A few days later there’s an opened red flower that isn’t quit fully developed, but it’s on its way.  Then finally, a few more days later when you look at that flower, there at the end of that green stick is a fully developed, red rose.  Oh the beauty it holds and the aroma it produces.  But it didn’t happen overnight, it took time.

We are just like that flower.  We develop over time.  The trials we face, the heartache we endure, the disappointment of others it’s all for our good, its part of the blooming process.  It’s a painful thing for us to go through, but once we’ve made it through, oh the beauty we are able to share.  Maybe it’s a financial battle, an addiction, a marital problem or something far worse.  Maybe it’s everything I just mentioned, but whatever it might be, it requires you to have patience.  And when you allow God to give you the patience you need to walk through that valley of the SHADOW of death, you can fear no evil because you know that at the end of that circumstance, God will have unfolded a rose…You.  Remember, He said He would never put more on us than what we could bare. 

Here’s a prayer I’ve prayed recently.  God, I’m asking You to give me the strength that I need to carry the load You’ve given me to carry, the courage to face my fears, the stamina to endure my battles and the direction in which to walk through the valleys that I must walk.   Help me to understand that although I don’t understand some of the issues I face, that over time I’ll see that the trials, the heartaches, the issues were all part of the unfolding.  God I know that You have a plan for my life and that there are things You’re working on in me.  I know that there are issues that must be resolved, and attitudes that must be changed, but in the end; when everything is said and done, I’ll be the beautiful, fully developed, sweet smelling, red rose You intended me to be.

Like the song says, “When God unfolds a rose He always gets it right.  When the petals are in place oh, it’s a beautiful sight.  God knows when to hold on and the perfect time to let go.  So let Him have his way and watch God unfold the rose”.

Becoming a rose takes time….just wait, you’ll be one….in time.

Just a thought on a page.

“When God Unfolds a Rose” by Frank O'brien

There have been times when I thought my prayers
Didn’t even reach the ceiling of the room
Where I knelt to pray
And a voice inside kept asking me
Did I think God was really listening
To anything I had to say
I just kept on a praying
And holding on by faith
Knowing God is always in control
And I waited like a rose bud in the garden
Only God can unfold a rose

When God unfolds a rose
He always gets it right
When the petals are in place
Oh, it’s such a beautiful sight
God knows when to hold on
And the perfect time to let go
So let Him have his way
And watch God unfold the rose

There are trials and tribulations
We must all go through
When it comes to heartache
We’ve all had our share
Oh, but when times are the hardest
We need to hold on to the promise
He said He’d never give us more than we could bear
So I’ll just keep on a praying
And holding on by faith
Knowing God is working for my good
And I’ll wait just like a rose bud in the garden
Cause only God can unfold a rose

More On Distractions....SQUIRREL part 2

I don’t know why, but the last blog I posted bothered me. Not that I thought it wasn’t any good, or that it wasn’t helpful, but that something needed to be added. The more I re-read it, the more I thought, something is missing.

So I went back to ole faithful, Webster’s Dictionary. I looked up the word Distraction and it basically said it was the act of distracting or the state of being distracted. So I looked at distract. Distract is defined as: to turn aside, to divert, to direct or draw to a different object or in a different direction, to stir up and confuse with conflicting emotions or motives.

Those definitions are great and we all know what’s a distraction or the act of being distracted. But I found something fascinating about the definition. The word dis is actually a Latin prefix which means apart. The word tract is actually from the Latin word tractus which means, to draw or pull – more toward pull. So when you put them together the word distract is actually from the Latin word distractus, which means to draw apart.

I had to give you the grammar lesson so you’d understand my point. We are each being tractus - to draw or pull, toward something. Our goals, our dreams, our jobs, families…whatever it is that we’re going toward there is always going to be something that will try to distractus - pull us apart from it.

I’ve set a goal to produce a series of lessons that will help people develop people. A plan, so to speak, that will help Managers’, Teachers’, Preachers’ develop people who want more from life and are interested in being more. Everyday I go to work on this project I’m pulled by other things that may or may not actually require my attention. I’m the one that decides whether I’ll allow this “distraction” to pull me away from the project or not.

Just like Dug, I may look at the issue, but like I said before, I don’t have to chase it. So, when I look away from what my eyes were originally focused on and I allow myself to make that determination of whether or not I’ll take off after it. I’ve got to be sure of what it is I’m about to chase; that’s why I identify it.

Remember folks, we do have an enemy that wants to destroy us. He’s not our friend and if there is something you’re being pulled to that is or will be good for you or your family, the enemy is going to try his best to pull you away. That’s why it’s important that you can identify the distraction.

I think one of the problems with us is we don’t identify the distractions and judge it before we take off after it. We just take off after it and end up in something we had no business and the goal or dream we were working on is left in the past…incomplete.

My words of advice, if you chose to take them, are again to look at the distraction, identify it and make a decision…usually the distraction isn’t that important and can be ignored. Stay focused on your goals folks.

Just more thoughts on a page:

SQUIRREL!

One of my favorite movies is the Disney Pixar movie, UP.  In this movie there’s a scene where the two main characters, Carl and Russell, find this dog named Dug.  Dug has a special collar that gives him a  human voice and while he’s explaining to Carl how great his owner is for creating this collar, he looks away suddenly and yells out, SQUIRREL!     There’s also a scene in this movie where a pack of dogs are in the woods and they too have special collars that give them voices.  One of the dogs is a tough looking Doberman Pincher and his collar is broken , causing his voice to sound like a little kid.  While he’s talking to the other dogs, he also looks away suddenly and yells, SQUIRREL! 
It’s really quite funny to watch as these dogs are talking away and then all of a sudden, SQUIRREL!  But isn’t that how a dog really acts?  It can be focused on one thing and then all of a sudden the smallest little movement can catch its eye and, BOOM; their focused on whatever it was that caught their attention.   But most dogs don’t just look at it….they chase it.

Now, I’m not calling anyone a dog, but I do think we let small things distract us from what we should be focused on.  I was working on a project this evening and out of nowhere I started thinking of a place in Picayune we used to hang out as a kid called Boley Creek.  Why in the world would I all of a sudden think of Boley Creek? 

We sure had a lot of fun at that creek.  We had this rope swing that hung about 6 feet off the ground that we would:   Wait, see…this is what I’m talking about.  I was working on a titles and names for chapters and then all of a sudden, SQUIRREL!  Off I go chasing something I had no time to chase.

You’re probably asking yourself, how do I stop the distraction?  How do stay focused on what really matters?  How do I stop letting the small, quick moments of thought step across the yard of my mind and not allow them to distract me from the large, more important things I’m working on? 

We don’t stop them, we can’t.  A distraction is going to happen.  It is what it is, a distraction.  They’re always going to be in the way and they’re always going to occur when we least expect them.  We can’t stop them, but we can do something that Disney Pixar scripted Dug to do.  While most dogs would have turned away from Carl and Russell and chased the squirrel, Dug didn’t.  He was able to do 3 things that allowed him to stay on track and continue with what he was doing prior to being distracted. 

1)      He RECOGNIZED the distraction
2)      He IDENTIFIED the distraction – He named it. 
3)      He IGNORED the distraction and returned to what he was doing.

Don’t let a distraction pull you away.  Once you’ve recognized and identified it, ignore it and go back to what you were doing.  You can’t let a distraction become a hindrance to the goals and dreams you’re working on.   You must keep moving forward, keep striving to accomplish what it is you’ve set out to accomplish….don’t stop.  The distractions will come; SQUIRREL! Just don’t chase them.   

Just my thoughts on a page….SQUIRREL!

Taking a chance

As I was spending some time reading this week, I came across a story that made me think.  It’s in Matthew chapter 4 and it talks about Jesus walking the shore line calling a few men to come follow him.  I noticed that when he called James and John, the son’s of Zebedee, that their Father was with them mending nets.  Now, reading the story, it says that Jesus called “them” and the only two that got up and followed was James and John.  My thoughts were, Why didn’t the Father get up?  Why didn’t Zebedee lay down the nets and leave the fishing business to follow after Jesus?  We can only assume, which is where my thinking comes into play.

My first thought was maybe he just didn’t care to follow anyone at his age.  I mean he’s an old fisherman, why would he want to leave a successful business and follow some guy that showed up and said, “Come follow me”?  “Who was this guy?”  “Where was he going?” “Why do you want me to follow you?”  These are questions that any reasonable person would ask.   But Zeb never asked the first question, he just sat there.  Maybe he thought, “I’ve been doing this for x number of years, I’m not going anywhere.”   Or maybe he said, “I’m too old to follow you” or “I’m too set in my ways and I don’t want to take orders from you.”  All valid reasons as to why he never made a move to follow.

Then I thought, maybe he was comfortable in the boat.  Why move from his comfortable position?  He was satisfied with where he was in life.  He was President and CEO of Zebedee and Son’s Inc.  He had everything he wanted and needed, why move?  He had plenty of money in the bank, he had food on the table, family surrounding him, why move?  He was successful right where he was, why does he need to follow someone? 

My last assumption kind of un-nerved me a little.  Maybe the reason he didn’t move was because he wasn’t mending his net, but was caught and tangled in it.  He only appeared to be mending, when in actuality he was tangled up in the net and if he would have moved, it would have been very noticeable to his family, his friends and his coworkers.   What an embarrassing situation to be in.  Everyone would see that he’s tangled and knotted up in all the circumstances of life.  There is no way he could take that chance.

Don’t we do the same thing that I assumed Zebedee did?   We either act like we don’t care, we make excuses, we’re satisfied and comfortable with what we have and where we are or we are so tangled up in a mess and don’t want anyone to know, that we don’t move when an opportunity comes along. 

If I get an opportunity to become something better, I’m taking it.  I’m not going to sit idly by and let, what could possibly be a chance to become a better person, slip by me.  I think that’s what James and John did.  They saw an opportunity to get out of the mess they could see their Father in; they saw a chance to do something besides row a boat, toss a net and sell fish for the rest of their lives.  They took a chance and followed someone who made them better people, gave them a gift that no one could ever take away, and allowed them to experience things they never would have experienced on or in a boat.

In the story it says that James and John left their nets, the boat and their Father to follow Jesus.  They left the comfort of the boat; the success of a good business, the entangled mess of the nets, and their family to pursue and follow someone they heard call out three words, “Come, follow me.” 

I’ve been told I missed my calling, maybe I have, but I’m not too old to go back and answer it.  Neither are you, but you have to be willing to lay down the nets, leave the comfort of the boat and the familiar surroundings to be taught how to be a …….You've got to fill in that blank.

Just my thoughts, on a page