Changing One Life, Reaching Many....

This, Is Not That!

So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. (Jeremiah 18:3 NIV)

Beautiful One, have you ever been through a crisis, an event or even a series of events that have changed your life forever? Do you know what it is to wake up one day and realize that you are not the same person you were yesterday, and upon that realization, it becomes the most frightening day of your existence.

What makes this a frightening reality is that you don't know quite how to define yourself anymore. Everything you used to be, all that you knew is changed. You go through moments in your daily life that when faced with certain situations, you are quite aware that you are not the same anymore. It's as if an innocence of optimism is gone.

There are certain things that happen in life that blindside us. We start out one way, only to find we have landed somewhere completely opposite than expected.

Now you have to start from ground zero. At ground zero you have to rummage through a mountain of a mess just to find yourself. Only this time, your starting with the firsthand knowledge of just how cruel and unfair life can become. Now, you are in an even more difficult position, because the knowledge of  the pain you've experienced are the glasses in which you view your future.

Beautiful One, life happens. Sometimes life is filled with challenges, and trials of magnitude proportions. Things happen and, sometimes the things that happen are so wounding, and hard to overcome, that we feel like we're drowning.

The "E" Files...

Extraordinary; beyond what is usual, ordinary or regular; exceptional in character.

Beautiful One, have you ever wondered what made certain people extraordinary? Do these people have a special formula?  When the giftings were handed out, did we get the memo?  Or, have these people simply gone the extra mile to get a step ahead of others? Sometimes it is easy to see what others have accomplished, and perceive their inherent greatness, but often times, we forget to stop and rewind a few chapters and see all of the obstacles and challenges one has had to face in order to get where they are.

Extraordinary people will  have extraordinary problems. Just look at the people God used over the pages of time in the Bible. Each was exceptional in their efforts and victories.  But take a closer look and one can see that each of these people faced insurmountable trials and troubles. Gideon, king David, the Apostle Paul, and  even Jesus, all had extraordinary experiences...

Maybe the extraordinary thing about each of them, was they simply did not allow their circumstances to define who they were. Each one faced trials and tribulations. Each were called and chosen by God for a specific purpose, and each one at one time or another wanted to give up.

But they didn't.

It is simply extraordinary to not give up, to take the bruises, and the lumps, falling down, yet getting right back up, irregardless of feelings or circumstances.