Each day, we awake, and then we go to sleep at the end of the day. So the cycle goes, day in & day out. If we aren’t mindful of purposeful living, life can become monotonous. We work our schedule and always hopeful for some exciting change to really make us feel alive! What is it we hope to find to make life purposeful or exciting to make us wake up with excitement? You could make a bucket list of things you want to do before you die, or you find joy in the little things in life you already do.
I know some people are very goal oriented & push them selves to achieve in the area of their passion. Passion can be a great motivator. So maybe it is a great idea to explore what you are passionate about.
If your’e not goal oriented or passionate about something specific, maybe it could be a person or relationship that lights your fire.
I have come far and wide and experienced many things. Some were things I was passionate about for a time, then moved on to other things.
But for me, the one passion that has never wained is my passion for living to love and please my Savior Jesus Christ! More recently, I have come to see my daily challenges as opportunities to learn how to respond in ways that keep my mind and heart focused on what’s really important. Living a peaceful life is important to me, so I’m learning to focus only on things I actually have control over. If it’s outside my realm of control, then it’s not worth it for me to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to control it. Okay, let’s use an example:
Say, there’s a person in your life who constantly challenges the way you do everything. You tell them how you feel when the y are constantly pointing out your flaws. The person doesn’t respect you and they think you have a problem, your’e so sensitive. So what’s a woman to do about that? You have several choices on how to respond.
- You can react back in kind, like how they spoke to you.
- You can choose to not have anything to do with them.
- You can respond in a way realizing you can’t control the other person, now if this isn’t someone you can write off, then you can choose to see this person through different eyes, they may have a need to control. So why is that? They may have some unmet needs going on in their own life or dealing with some issues in their life they can’t control.
- So for me, I can choose not to take it personal, and see if there was some way to meet their need. It changed the way I related to this person and that brought me peace. So now I can focus on how to meet their needs instead of on how I’m being treated.
This was a real example I experienced with a family member. The scenario used to happen over and over again, and I tried all the above ways to deal with the relationship. It caused me much stress until I decided there must be a better way. So I realized this person was very needy and I was in a position to take an interest in them instead of react to them. I realized, I can only control myself and how I choose respond, so I changed the way I related to them and guess what happened?
This person got some of their needs met and I started to care about them in a healthier way. I had been resentful, but what happened as I focused on them? God changed me. I forgave this person and how they treated me. Did this person ever change? No, but I did and I no longer expected anything from them. But I had a lot more peace in my life.
So like the title of this post, what will we do with the life we have? I’m choosing to learn in the midst of my challenges a better way, the way that brings peace and pleases my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
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