I hope & trust this post finds you having a great day as a beautiful new day - full of hope, opportunity & promise...they are there if you will only look for them! - dawns!
Oh my goodness, Little League baseball is kicking my rear end. I am struggling with the games that end at 9:00 p.m., home to bed between 10:30 - 11:00 p.m. and trying to get up and do all my stuff on Friday morning. Keep this up and I am going to start calling it "Sleepy Friday!" :)
Last Sunday our Pastor preached one of the best sermons I have ever heard on the roles & responsibilities in marriage. Now there are a thousand different directions we could go at this point however there was one statement made that was profound to be:
Lead as God has wired you to lead.
Pause for a second Friends and let that sink in. Perhaps you want to read it again. Lead as God has wired you to lead...
We are all different. There is not another person walking the face of the earth who is exactly like you. This does not make you any better or worse than another, just different. For you to try to be me or for me to try to be you just wouldn't work...we weren't created the same. We were both created lovingly, perfectly, lacking nothing, equipped to fulfill our individual purposes however we are not the same and therefore we cannot do things exactly the same, including leading.
Without this rather simple, yet incredibly profound understanding two things, at least two things, happen:
1. We compare ourselves to others. Pointless, completely pointless! How silly would it be to hold an apple in one hand, an orange in the other and then to look at the apple and tell it what a terrible orange it is...laughable right? How is it any different when you look at your leadership/life and then compare it to someone else's? You weren't created to be the same as anyone else, you were created uniquely for your own unique purpose & path...pursue that - YOUR greatness. You want to compare something? Compare yourself today, at the end of the day, against yourself yesterday, at the end of the day. Be better than that person...the you of yesterday!
2. We want to listen to the thoughts/advice of another and try to do exactly what they do. Again, this is an impossible task, it will only lead to failure. You and I would have to be exactly who and what that person is to do exactly what they do. There is wisdom in this understanding for both the mentor as well as the mentee. We are here to encourage, empower & equip each other, to inspire by the lives we live - which is another way of saying we are here to inspire by the sermon(s) we preach - however we are not here to tell anyone how they should live their lives or to try to perfectly replicate someone else's. Share your testimony, by all means be willing to share your knowledge & wisdom with another however it is then your responsibility to encourage them to pursue their greatness, with the benefit of your inspiration, of your knowledge & wisdom, and not to try to become your clone. And on the other side of the equation, please don't try to be someone else...this would rob the world of something incredible, talented & beautiful - you. Just go on about your business of being the best you that you can be...that is what God created you to be & do.
There is one point that I believe is in fact is the same for all of us - the heart. We all need to search it, prepare it, etc. While it doesn't matter how we lead - Lead as God wired you to lead - it matters greatly why we do it, the condition of our hearts. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." It is not a matter of what you do as a spouse, a parent, a leader, etc. It is a matter of unconditionally loving, of genuinely caring, of wanting to be the best spouse, parent, leader, etc. that you can be, of being willing to sacrifice for those you are privileged to serve. These are the things that truly matter.
I also came across a nugget of wisdom this week in reading an article titled There's Enough Time in Your Life for Everything Important. I will share the entire paragraph and let it speak to your heart:
"My mother was a towering example of the joys of slowing down. Until her death in 2000, she and I had an unspoken deal: Hers would be the rhythm of a timeless world, a child's rhythm; mine was the rhythm of the modern world. While I had the sense every time I looked at my watch that it was later than I thought, she lived in a world where there were no impersonal encounters, and never a need to rush. She believed that rushing through life was a sure way to miss the gifts that come only when you give 100 percent of yourself to a task, a conversation, a dinner, a relationship, a moment. Which is why she despised multitasking."
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your families. I will always be willing to help you any way I can.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.
Kev
No comments:
Post a Comment