Life in general

Today I was reminded how important it is to "keep your eye on the prize." Life can sure drag a person down sometimes, but you know what? If things didn't go wrong occasionally, we'd be bored (that is, at least I would). I have a hard time coping with things every now and then; (my family would say more often than that, but for time's sake we'll just say every now and then ;) I have a plan for something, and...well, it just doesn't happen the way I was expecting! Who would have thought.

This is when I have to go back to a valuable lesson I learned from a friend once. Life is hard, that's the sad truth. But that doesn't mean we have to go around moping. Things may go wrong, circumstances may change, but God will always stay the same no matter how whacked out our world seems to get. He is always in control and will always be more powerful than anything we face. It's a nice reassurance, one I forget too often.

There was a quote I found that was pretty neat.
"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm,
but to add color to my sunset sky." - Rabindranath Tagore

Sometimes all that we seem to get from life is storm clouds and rainy days. Some people enjoy these, like myself, but it sure makes for a difficult time accomplishing anything or going anywhere. It can seem dark and stormy, and life seems to be stopped; it's at a stand still wherever we turn.

The bible says that God can close doors that no man can open, and open doors that no man can close. It's kind of like a car with a flat tire. You can try and try to drive on, but until you get that tire changed, you're not going anywhere. Live life following God, and though life won't be any "easier", it will sure have more meaning.

The first step is to have a good relationship with Christ because if you don't have that, you won't hunger for His will or desire to dig into His word. We see Christians out doing all kinds of things for Christ, and though it may not be what we are called to do, we have this envy of them, wishing we could have what they have. Don't we, though? If we're saved, we DO have what they have! We have simply lost that "close" relationship with Christ. He still dwells within us, but we have stopped hungering for Him and His word. Oh 'tis a sad day when this happens. Figure out what is stopping you from having that kind of relationship with God, and fix the problem. If it is an item or hobby in your life, get rid of it. If it is a friend, then don't hang around them.
Do whatever it takes, because the most important relationship you'll ever have is the one you have with Jesus Christ.