It starts with one person. Sharing your story with a single person will reach more people than you can ever imagine. Sharing the Good News of Jesus starts precisely at the place you are at, at this very moment. God uses us in every moment and situation we are in to bring the Word of God to others. In fact, you are able to reach others without ever speaking a word, it’s true! A simple act of bowing your head before eating a meal, closing your eyes prior to (whatever you are doing) shooting a basketball, stepping into the batters box, kicking a football, walking onto a stage, driving a car, flying a plane, or driving a school bus and more. God can use each of us, using the smallest parts of ourselves to bring about great changes in the world, He ask only that we are faithful and to take the first step of faith. I made the biggest and best decision of my life, not simply from hearing a minister preach a sermon or a church building or congregation, not from someone quoting me scripture, no it was through the observation and inclusion into a family of a high school friend. They loved me and included me as if I was an extension of their family. I saw LOVE and more importantly I felt LOVED and I learned that God was the source of it all. I wanted to have what they had, it was hard to describe and harder yet to ask for. It wasn’t a thing, it was more a feeling. I now know it was a yearning to trust and believe in God, I was seeking a personal relationship with God. I was able to see God through their relationships with one another and by how they treated others. I learned early on that God was not about perfection, harmony, trendy homes, cars, or fashion…it was how you treat people. On September 6th, 1979 I had a conversation with my mom about God and she called the Pastor from the Christian School my brother and I attended and at 10:10pm that night I ask Jesus to save me and forgive my sins, to be my Lord and Savior. Since that time I have learned and grown in my faith and I still seek to be the whole person God created me to be. To date, the most valuable lesson I’ve learned about life is this…no two are alike. God created each person with and for a purpose. Our growth charts and levels of achievements are not for comparing ourselves with one another, we are to challenge ourselves daily to be more Christlike than we were the day before. We can’t change yesterday and tomorrow will always be a day away. Live today with all your being. There have been times in my life when I’ve told myself that I’m not good enough, I should have learned that lesson long ago, I should have known better the second time, I…I…I!!! It wasn’t until I allowed myself some grace and forgiveness, the things that I freely give to everyone else in my life, did I truly recognize that I’m O.K., so what if I had relationships not work out, so what if I didn’t get my Masters before I was 35, and all the other lists of things I had placed as a threshold upon myself, God had not made those demands, I did. God loves me with or without my list of “do’s!” I am more fully aware of how to be a better partner in a relationship now, because I know what doesn’t work for me and what does. I have learned the value of having a job I love because of my experiences at jobs I’ve had, jobs I’ve quit, and even jobs I was asked to leave. If I had never experienced those situations I would not know what truly makes me want to go to work every day, it’s more than a means to an end, its joys and challenges, it’s a privilege and an honor and it’s relationships with people. It’s our experiences, good and bad that help us know ourselves and learn life’s lessons that can’t simply be learned from reading a book or even by watching someone else. Embrace your experiences, hold onto your truths and set everything else free. Free yourself of the burdens of carrying regrets, mistakes, and pain, learn from them and then LET THEM GO! I like the person I am, I think today was the first day I’ve said that out loud to myself and believe it with all my being. I said to a friend today, “I’m not here for the taking, for people to pick and choose what they want, I can make choices for myself.” All of this is about relationships with ourselves, with our friends, family, coworkers, the world and most importantly our relationship with God. Reaching the multitudes sounds so overwhelming but trust me it’s not, being true to yourself, being responsible and respecting others can spread more good and positivity than any words could ever hope to. You can change a person’s whole outlook on themselves and life in general simply by smiling and making eye contact, holding a door for someone, saying “thank you” or ” you’re welcome.” Invest in yourself, then share the profits of that with the world.
~Blessings and Peace~
“Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” ~Exodus 4:10-11
“They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…” ~Acts 16:31
“…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” ~Romans 10:9
HOPE SEEKER 