I am no different than anyone else.
So many times in life, I like to put on the “happy” face and “pretend” that all is well. I put up my walls, and facades, and simply play the part of having it all together and that life is just “perfect.” When in reality nothing is ever perfect and I am always wrestling with some thing or some one. I am no different than any one else.
I know the pains of loss.
I know what it feels like to have health issues and to struggle to overcome a disease through counseling, encouragement and God’s amazing grace. I know the battle well, and the beauty of victory over a disease. I know what it is like to put all your hopes and dreams into a relationship. I know what it is like to believe with all your heart that the relationship was blessed by God and I had met my Prince Charming. I know very well what it feels like to wake up one morning and to realize my Prince Charming did not exist, and it was just a dream that was not to come true. I know what it is like to go through the pain of a relationship ending, and having to move on. I know what it painfully feels like to have your heart broken. I also know death. I know what it is like to be there for a friend while they go through cancer treatment for 3 years, only for the cancer to conquer and death occurs. I know what it is like, to lose another friend in a sudden accident only a month after the first friend had passed. They were exactly 1 month a part. I know the pain of loss, I know how it burns and how it hurts. I also know the healing power of God’s grace, and his comfort through the hard times. I am no different than anyone else.
I know what it is like to want a miracle.
I know what it is like, to pray deeply for God to change circumstances. I know what it is like to ask God for a miracle to change my life for the better. I know what it is like to hate a job so horribly and find no relief in sight. No new job opening up, and miserable in a career for years. I know what it like to ask God to show you how to train smarter and to have each race you do be blessed by God. And instead of having a “perfect training and race season” I was injured constantly and had a terrible race season or seasons. I know what it is like to ask for a miracle of healing of the body, only for God not to heal me. I know what it is like for needing a financial miracle. Yet no miracles occur and being left to go through the struggles of life and stressful circumstances where resolutions take longer than one would ever hope for. I am no different than anyone else.
I know what it is like to pray for help.
I know what it like to pray for deliverance, and feel like the prayers are not being answered. I know what it is like to have no money for food, gas, or even toilet paper. I know what is like to have cupboards and the refrigerator empty. I know what it like to go to sleep hungry, and to wake up hungry for days on end. I know what it like to not be able to go anywhere in the car, for there was no gas to drive the car. I know what it is like to not be able to pay my bills and obligations. I know it very well. I know what it is like to pray so deeply for God to provide financially so I could keep my home. Only for no money to arrive, and having to let the creditors know, payment will be made but when God only knows. I know what it is like to know I might lose my home to foreclosure. I am no different than anyone else.
I know what it is like to have passion and purpose.
I know what it like to love having my own business and being passionate about it. I know how good it feels to help others in finding their passion and purpose in life. I know the hard work it takes for a person to know their calling in life and to find fulfillment, I know it well. I know what it like to try and live life separate from God, only to find that true purpose and passion can only be found in Christ Jesus. I know what it like to having nothing change in my circumstances, and the ability to lose everything of material value yet still have a peace with God that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. I know it well. I know how much I love to aid people who have no hope, see no future, feel helpless, can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, have lost everything, and everything is out of their control. Because I am no different than anyone else. I know what it is like to lose everything, feel pain and sorrow, feel alone and yet in the process have peace with God. I know what it is like to be afraid to fail, to have to put down my pride, and learn how to struggle in order to achieve more in life. I know what it like to have to say good bye to a few things I deemed of value so that I can make room for what God deems of value and change my life for the better. I know what it is like to be transformed from the inside out, and in the process be able to learn a few life lessons and to share hope, love, compassion to those who have to go through the process of letting go and moving forward.
I am no different than anyone else.
I am no different than anyone else, I have traveled in your shoes, and I know the hardest steps are the first ones, and hardest journey is the one within. I know how hard it is releasing all to God, and knowing deeply that he does know what is best. I know what it is like to hold on to Jesus, even when more loss occurs, pain is felt deeply, miracles do not occur, and prayers seem to be left unanswered. But I promise you, knowing your purpose and passion in life, will allow God to when he is ready to open the doors of opportunity for you, he just need to make sure you have no pride and can be a humble servant to others when living out your calling. But it is a process, a stripping a way, till there is nothing left of the old self. It is a path very few travel, but those who chose to follow find deep peace and rest for their souls, and as time goes on, they let God be the master planner of how their calling is accomplished. I know it personally. And I am living it. I still have struggles, pain and the stripping away is always occurring, and I am okay with it, knowing in time, God will open a door of opportunity to change lives and the world for the better through me.
I am no different than anyone else, except…….
I am no different than anyone else, except I chose to use my experiences for God’s Glory in the lives God chooses to put in my path. I know that anyone God puts in my path is there is a reason and a purpose. And I believe it is to inspire everyone to live the life God called them to live through the process of letting go and finding freedom in living the life God has planned for each person. There is a lot of hard work and processing but it is all worth it in the end. Then one day we can say.
I am different than everyone else, uniquely made, and destined for greatness for God’s glory in this world.
I have made a choice to STOP putting on the act that all is “great” and “perfect”, and have decided to be real, for life is never perfect, it is never easy, put there is always a point, a purpose, and a calling to be fulfilled, and I attend to accomplish all I am called to do. Whether I have tons of money, have a roof over my head, have food on the table, and or, have Prince Charming in my life, I am still going to move forward and say, “I might not be able to change my circumstances, but I can change how a see and view my situation.”