Plus, new blog post and podcast episode every Wednesday
In the quiet of a cave, God spoke to Elijah; in the stillness of the night, He came to Samuel.
It is in those quiet moments when God expands our awareness to live life to its fullest. But what does it mean to live life to its fullest?
Living life is a journey. It is the time we have at our disposal every day. It is the clouds and grey skies as well as the moments of sunshine, beauty, and harmony. Every day we meld it all together for good.
It’s waging war while searching for peace.
“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’”
— Erma Bombeck
You have been on a life-altering journey, a journey you had neither anticipated nor wanted.
There have been many unexpected surprises that demanded change, adjustment, a new assessment, and adaptation of plans. Your life has been forever altered.
Taking back the reins of your life requires purpose, choice, and determination.
Life is full of challenges. Some challenges will be fairly straightforward while others will require major adjustment and reframing to meet the demands within them.
Years ago, when I was helping design and write a class on Chronic Illness, we reviewed a book by Arnold Beisser titled, Flying without Wings: Personal Reflections on Loss, Disability and Healing. Arnold was a young man ready to conquer the world. He was an athlete and tennis champion and had just completed medical school when polio struck. He found himself in an iron lung instead of in an office taking on new clients.
As he lay there unable to move, paralyzed from head to foot, he asked himself, Now what? His life seemed over. But he decided to take it back and gradually began to reframe his situation.
We collect a lot of unnecessary and unhelpful “stuff” over time – old habits, old lifestyles and ways of doing things that are counterproductive.
To explore new options and look for new opportunities, you need to let go of what isn’t working and open yourself up to new ideas and discoveries.
For us, it involved ways to travel and meet new people and make new friendships within our time frame and financial budget. It meant being willing to sacrifice when necessary to capture some of those moments.
Within all our travels and opportunities, we met new people, made new friends and experienced the history and cultures of the world. We gained a wealth of experiences that enriched our lives in so many ways.