Last week I celebrated my birthday with my twin sister. It is chapter 46 of this story for us! I don't mind sharing my age because I do not see it as a sign of aging, I see it as a sign of wisdom and a testiment of a blessed life. A few days after celebrating my birthday, my family and I celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is because of my faith in Him that I have walked into this chapter of my life.
As I begin this new year, I continue to be thankful to God and hopeful. My faith has carried me through good times and bad. This past week as I fasted, prayed and meditated on the Word of God and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, it occurred to me that sometimes in life, we, too, must experience a death, burial and resurrection in our lives. I believe that this is going to be phenonmenal year for me. There have been some things in my life, over the past few years, that have had to die and be buried in order for me to keep living a full life. Negative personal and business relationships, attitudes, habits and mind-sets that have tried to keep me in a holding pattern or in a spirit of fear had to die in order for me to mature and began to live out my dreams and goals.
I have always believed that there was a special, God-ordained purpose for my life, purpose that includes a variety of assignments. I trust that over the course of these 46 years God has been teaching, caring for, protecting, sustaining and equipping me to accomplish His plans for me which includes blessing to others with my skills and abilities as well as financial resources.
From the time that I was a child, I sensed the need to be a positive, peaceable, caring and giving spirit. It's true I wanted to please those around me. Who doesn't want their parents, grandparents, teachers and even their peers to be pleased with them. However, over the years, and I mean many years, I grew to understand that being a people-pleaser was counterproductive. Many times, over the years, I have felt used, abused and misunderstood because of my kindness, compassion and patience with others. Crazy, huh? You would be surprised at how many people just do not get the "kindness" thing. Nevertheless, instead of becoming mean, selfish and unkind, I chose to seek God for the right balance of good character, strength and boldness to speak up and just be myself.
God has taught me to do what comes naturally...to show the love of Christ. For me, that means living a life of joy, peace, goodness, care, kindness, boldness, compassion and the like. During this chapter of my life, I plan to continue to model the Godly character that I was taught as a child and to be the one to stand up for and demonstrate peace and love in a hurting world. Chapter 46 of my life is definitely going to be a good one!
