I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! :)
Every morning my work family and I have a Zoom meeting that we call our "Check-In" call. It is a time to see how everyone is doing, discuss our successes and failures, discuss our hopes and fears, and to learn how we can help each other - personally and/or professionally. It is a privilege to be doing life with this special group of people.
Yesterday one of my colleagues - a great, young Tender Warrior who loves his family deeply and who desperately aspires to be the Godly man, husband, father and leader God has created him to be - had something on his heart he wanted to share. He went on to share that with so much going on in the world, being weighed down by the cares and concerns of life, he had forgotten to teach his oldest son how to ride his bike. Much to his credit, he owned his loss of focus and when his son asked him about it, he took the time to teach him. He went on to tell us how just minutes before the call he had been out in the driveway with his son so he could ride his bike again. His vulnerability in sharing his story genuinely blessed the hearts of each one of us...as we reflectively thought back to the joy of learning to ride a bike, and of spending quality time with those who mean the most to us.
Life is hard. There are very real cares and concerns. The pandemic is real. Racism is real. Pain and hurt are real. Challenges are real. None of this is to minimize any of it...it is all real.
Let me share a quote and a couple of scriptures with you...
"Ships don't sink because of the water around them. Ships sink because of the water that gets in them. Don't let what's happening around you get inside you and weigh you down." - Author Unknown
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." - Proverbs 4:23
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16
This is what we are talking about...though the battles are real, we must be vigilant about guarding our hearts for our vessel will not be sunk by what is going on around us but by what we allow to get inside of us. While we educate ourselves and protect our families from COVID-19, while we stand up against racism and help our brothers and sisters who need us, and while we strive daily to become all that we are capable of becoming, we can do this with joy, giving thanks in all circumstances - not "for", "in"! It all starts with our hearts, what we allow to be poured into them and thus, what we allow to flow from them.
I want to challenge all of us with two things this morning:
1. Who have you promised that you will teach to ride a bike? Maybe it is not learning to ride a bike. Maybe it is going fishing. Or maybe it is simply a date night on the back porch. What are the things you have put off because you are worried about COVID-19, because you are saddened by the way one human being can treat another or because you have simply prioritized work over loved ones? I want to encourage us all to step up this weekend and do that one thing. Yes, the problems and challenges of this world are still going to be there...this is not to hide, mask or deny them. It is however to recognize and respond to the fact that our spouses, our children and our friends still need us. We can't check out on them because of a pandemic, racism or work. And the lives we live with them today will influence the quality of their lives tomorrow. Please, do that one thing.
2. Find the beauty around you. Yes, there is a lot of ugly, scary stuff out there. And you don't need a microscope to find it! Sadly, we are at a point in time when you actually have to work harder to see the good than to see the bad...please work! Again, this is not to deny the bad - actually acknowledging it helps us. It is however an intentional effort to find the good in people, the blessing that we all have and to live life from a perspective of prosperity rather than lack. It is all about the heart Friends and while none of us, individually, can change what is going on around us, every one of us can change what is going on inside of us.
I am going to wrap this up by sharing two quotes. One quote I actually just read this morning. The other quote came from the Haslam family movie night last weekend when we watched Acts of Valor.
"...whatever we focus on in life grows.
Focus on the bad and it is multiplied, it's everywhere. Focus on the good and it expands, it's all around.
Instead of looking at what he no longer has, my dad looks for what he does have.
Instead of looking at what is lacking, he looks for what he's blessed with.
We all know people who have everything and are grateful for nothing. We also know people who have nothing and are grateful for everything.
So which kind of person are you? And, more important, which kind are you going to be?" - John O'Leary
"So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours.
Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life.
Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.
Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place.
Show respect to all people and bow to none.
When you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living.
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.
Abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.
When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way.
Sing your death song and die like a hero going home." - Chief Tecumseh
Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.
Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, please cherish your precious families and please stay healthy and well.
Kev
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