Missing

With the recent death of a family member, and the birthday of a friend that passed away earlier this year, I started wondering yet again what life could be all about... And if we will ever figure out the reason for all this we have here on earth. Sometimes I wonder if those who have left us aren't sitting up there thinking what idiots we are with the things we spend all of our time on.

We make less time for actual people time and more time for social networking. Some of us have become so wrapped up in the package that we are trying to sell to the world of who we are that we forget to love the person and not the package. We live for ourselves and make connections only when and where it can benefit us.

We do not spend our time wisely for we do not know how. Days are wasted and people slip through the cracks. We care too little and give too little, be it time or love. I love how children can still genuinely pay attention and listen, without being distracted by a phone buzzing or a series in the background.

When do we make time for each other? Time is all we have. You can't ever get a moment back, and some you won't want back. They say you have to live without regrets, I don't think that is possible. There will always be something you think you could have done differently, and somethings you most probably should have done differently, but living with regrets is not half as bad as living without lessons. 

One thing we should all try to do is:

Let all that you do be done in love" 1Cor16:14

Send time with loved ones.

Mistakes

As I was speaking to my sister this weekend I again realised how blessed I've been all my life. Even if I screw things up royally, I always seem to end up in a better place than I was before.

I have many regrets, but I would probably make the same mistakes if I had been given a do-over or a return to start card... Every seemingly insignificant thing that happens forms you as a person, it shapes you and defines how you make your choices from here on out.

I learn things by trial and error, and I believe mistakes are only very stupid if you didn't learn something from them. I live and learn, which is the only way I know how to. Some people take life all too seriously, and forget to get the lesson out of each situation. Because most of the time you can get one. One of my all time favorite quotes is from The Lion King, where Rafiki says to Simba:

“Ah, yes the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it”
-Lion King

Those are some wise words for a crazy monkey. But it is true, as soon as you embrace your past you can become who you are now, and who you are at this stage of your life journey. I have recently started making some of my past mistakes, but as soon as I figure out the road I'm taking is one I've been down before and I realize that it is not one that I want to be on or one I particularly liked (some I liked but they were pretty self destructive), I reasess my situation and start looking for alternatives and pray for a different direction.

Let your TEST become your TESTimony and your MESS become your MESSage!

Time

This morning while driving to work there was a really ambitious driver in the lane next to me. He was in his brand new sports car slipping in between lanes and still ending up right next to me at every intersection. In traffic it is impossible (or actually just very dangerous) to be overly ambitious. Eventually the sports car got his gap and sped towards his destination, finally getting a whole traffic light on me. While driving I thought about the sports car, but lo and behold not for long. One of the lanes up ahead started merging into another lane because of an accident up ahead, while driving slowly past the accident scene I saw my sports car friend standing next to his now very dented car. He had driven into someone's behind.

Sometimes I have impatient tendencies in traffic, but as the little sports car just reminded me again - nothing comes from rushing. After seeing his bad fortune I put my music a bit louder and danced to my beat, being thankful for this hour in my day that I don't have to do anything but drive and I don't have to be anyone except me.

Every hour of each day is so filled with have to's and need to's and get to's. You have 24 hours each day. suppose you have 7 hours sleep, 8 hours at work (plus lunch makes it 9), I travel to and from work that's another 2 hours gone, get ready for work in the morning for another hour (which is what it takes to be kind of awake and get ready) go to the gym in the afternoon (a very recent development in my calendar) for another hour. That is 20 hours right there that is gone. Now I still have to pray, eat, shower, and do chores. So what is left of life. Except the say 3 or 2 hours in the evening.

Most people use those 2 / 3 hours to stare at that electronic box that we created to waste time. We don't spend any quality time with those around us and those which we claim to love. What do you make and use your time for?

A wise person (I can't remember who) once said... Show me your diary and I'll show you what's the most important thing in your life.

Smile at a Stranger

Every day when I wake up, I have a choice to either be happy or sad. I can wake up (sometimes late) and go through the whole day rushed without taking anything in or adding anything of value to the world around me. Smiling is the easiest way to add something of value to another persons life, it comes at no expense to you and makes you feel good to. Some days it is a mission to smile to the street vendor, who is trying to make a living and know of no other way.

Do you know how nice the people at the tollgates are? Their names are put up on their booths most of the time. If you greet them by name with a smile and wish them a pleasant day/evening, they greet you back with a smile and most of the time a very warm one. Why have we become so oblivious to the people around us? Most of the time we are bashful and rude to people providing a service that we see as beneath ourselves. We think of ourselves as high and mighty and do not take time to be nice to our fellow humans, unless we seek to gain something from it.

Niceness is not overrated. It creates opportunities to show the love of the Lord to people. Make your service one of niceness and kindness.

James 2:1-9 is my inspiration (actually a law) for treating all people equally and with respect.

James 2: 1 - 9
A Warning against Prejudice
1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others?
2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?


5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?


8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.

Like a Flake

I fear that I have a very bad memory. I almost forgot about blogging entirely - after just 2 posts. *sigh*. I have a bad memory and a short attention span, which is not always the best combination. I struggle to watch a movie without falling asleep and get distracted almost as easily as my Yorkie.

These aren't my best qualities and they have caused my life to stray every so often. I try my best to be my best, but get distracted along the way by something that seems more fun, or I just forget what my goals were. I have tried writing them down and setting definite goals, dreams and sometimes plain delusions, but either I forget where I wrote them down or I just plain forget to read them.

I have thus decided that planning does not work for me, I love making all kinds of lists, but can't follow them for the life of me. I would rather live life than list it... I don't know if it makes sense.

Who doesn't love a Flake?

Dreaming big and then waking up and forgetting the dream is something I have become to accustomed to. I know that this also makes me seem flaky and distracted to some. I might be. But I know that most of almost everything good that has ever happened to me has been by accident and sometimes a comedy of errors.

I will leave the pen in my Lord's hand, while being willing for anything. I will stop stressing and planning or even stop stressing about my lack of planning and just live simply and love with abundance.