I just read a blog post by Kayla Lemmon titled: "God will give you more than you can handle: I guarantee it.", and I whole-heartedly second her message. In fact, I don't mind if you completely abandon me at this point and just go read her post, it's that good.
Sometimes someone tells the beautiful, honest, inspiring, tear-inducing truth about the profound nature of the human experience in such a way that I immediately have no greater desire than to pass it on by shouting it from the mountain tops...
Granted, I am an imperfect, flawed messenger-- one who may or may not be the most likely candidate to be given the privilege of broadcasting anything "from the mountain tops". But I am someone who believes in the opportunity to learn from everything we experience; and in that, we are all in the same boat.
After reading Ms. Lemmon's candid words of wisdom, I am sitting here thinking about how much life really is all about perspective.
The truth about trials is that our ability to learn hinges on our willingness to learn.
Take a moment and think about that. The more we accept that principle, the more we understand that there is no such thing as a wasted experience, or a pointless hardship-- as long as we choose to find something valuable to glean from it. There is no trial that does not contain within it the power to lift our perspective to a higher plane; all that is required is a willing heart.
Our perspective is our own to care for, to curate; like a museum full of priceless works of art whose true value is seldom known to the casual observer. From time to time, we have the opportunity to observe the work of those who choose to painstakingly sculpt something beautiful out of the rough rocks that mortal life has handed them. I am so grateful for the kind souls who offer up the beauty of their own personal experiences to any of us who choose to actively seek a broader perspective.
Those who have survived impossibly hellish experiences, tend to have a common thread in their explanation of how they managed such a feat. They frequently attribute their hope and strength to a concept that can be boiled down to one fundamental principle: the power of our individual will to choose.
Holocaust survivor Corrie ten Boom, wrote in her beloved book "The Hiding Place":
“Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
We have the power to choose whether to open our heart to the lessons that life is so excruciatingly capable of teaching us. We have the power to choose what we are grateful for. We have the power to decide that we value and respect our experiences, even the ones that leave us flat on our back... especially the ones that leave us feeling beaten and broken.
Today I am calling out to everyone who is searching for answers. I am humbly offering encouragement to the minds that are desperate for peace. I am reaching out to the bodies that are wracked with indescribable exhaustion, and sometimes overwhelming pain.
So anyway, go read that blog article! It is with reverent enthusiasm I wish to add my voice to the thoughts shared there; and I sincerely hope anyone who needs some peace today, anyone who needs a little boost (or a big one), can find something personally meaningful there too.
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