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

How much of ourselves do we give away to the wrong people, the wrong thoughts, the wrong way? When we wake up in the morning are we smiling or are we immediately anticipating the worst? So much of my mind gets buried alive by worry and wondering that often I neither have the strength to tend to the things that make me happy, nor the things that make God happy. It is definitely a struggle in these days, but how hard does it have to get before we feel relief? How much can one person take on their own? Life is HARD!

Hard is a delicate way to define what we all go through day in and day out. Money, power, respect, and responsibility are the sand, but it is our own way of handling these things which is the shovel. Each worrisome thought adds to the pile of problems we experience and if we are consumed by the world or our idea of it, we will be six feet under before we know it! The reality is quite different from our perception of it. Our burden is quite lighter than we feel it is. Stress is a self-imposed affliction and each time we choose to allow our problems to possess us, we willingly do ourselves harm. Ironically, after the fact, we spend much of our time blaming others or even God for our troubles, even when we are shown the outcome was much different, much better, than we assumed.

How many of us can honestly say the time we spend praying and trusting in God to remedy our situations, outweighs the time we spend worrying about what we are going to do in the midst of them? How many of us actually PRAY. When I say pray, I do not mean moan a sigh of want or bring a complaint to God’s ears, I mean PRAY. I mean refer to His words of biblical truth and rest? Scripture is extremely vital in our everyday lives and in our prayer lives. If you bring God the facts, He will hear your case as a judge would when in court and you win. God is aware of our “needs” and despite our idea of urgency, He is also aware of when we are to receive what we ask.

 My child, listen to me and do as I say,
and you will have a long, good life.
I will teach you wisdom’s ways
and lead you in straight paths.
When you walk, you won’t be held back;
when you run, you won’t stumble.
Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.

-Proverbs 4:10-12

God has intended us all to do incredible things with our time here. He did not say we would be without burden, but He did promise to relieve us from it no matter what the problem might be. Life is for living, not to be spent slowly suffocating from the world and our worry. Try to remember that happy is as happy does. What are you doing with your life? If you are not giving away the gifts God has given you to be the difference in others lives, how can you be disappointed when you do not receive the blessings in return? Whatever we are lacking, someone else is lacking something too, however when we all remember how blessed we are to have our lives and each other, the focus drifts from lack to life. Don’t worry, BE HAPPY.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.
Helen Keller

Related articles

• What Happens in Heaven When We Pray? (cherokeebillie.wordpress.com)
• The Cheery Song of ‘Robin’ (robinfleischer.com)
• Just be Glad… The Eleventh Holiday Mental Moment (runningnakedwithscissors.com)
• How do I Pray When I’m Worried? (essentialthingdevotions.com)
• How Will You Measure Your Life? (africatooz.com)
• Footprints on the Sand of Time – How We will be Remembered (secondchancetolive.wordpress.com)