What am I doing here?

Some days I wake up and think to myself "let's just go off the grid today." Then I remind myself that I am an adult with responsibilities. Also, there would be consequences to my action. So I convince myself that I will work on getting one thing done today and I will do it well.

There's a Chicago song that comes to mind,
Everybody needs a little time away
I heard her say
From each other

Even lovers need a holiday
Far away

It's good for the soul sometimes to just walk away for a bit. The confirmation that you are exactly where you should be comes from the fact that you are excited to be back. Some of us struggle with where We are now, others with where they feel led to be, still others with the fact that they don't know where they should be in this moment in time.

The quest for me is the stressful and fun part all at the same time. I have a God to rely on for the foundation when I think no am drowning. So when I feel like running away, I remind myself one thing...

LOVE GOD AND THE REST WILL FOLLOW...

I. Am. Not. God.

Young man, the secret of my success is that at early age I discovered that I was not God." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. 

I was prepping for a Bible Study last night and this was a quote that was laid out in the book that we are covering. Right before I got to this page, the song "heart of worship" was playing.

"I am coming back
To the Heart of Worship
Because it's all about you,
It's all about you Jesus."

And I woke this morning with that on loop in my brain. Somewhere along the way, I turned this life into a ritual. I made it about me and my survival skills. I figured out a way to exist but not to live. I made it about me in the temporal and essentially change my point of view.

As a believer in the words of Jesus Christ, this world is my temporary abode while I fulfill a desire of God's heart. When I am done here, I get eternity with Him in heaven. To a someone who hasn't believed, this sounds like insanity.

I grew up in the church and I thought this was insanity too. Until one day, your eyes are opened to the miracles God does and the way He guides us through obstacles. God isn't sitting idly by hoping that you make it. He is helping you and one day you will see it.

If you know me, I live by music and lyrics. Recently, I heard a song by Francesca Battistelli called 'where were you' and it summed up a lot of what I was feeling in that moment. I had decided that I could survive on my own and then when it failed, I was sad and hurt that God had left me all alone. Truth is, He never left.

"One set of footprints, on the path I'd been on
But you say you've been here all along, oh
If you really loved me, like nobody else
Why was I walking through hell

How could you miss me?
With my hands in the air
I thought you were listening
Oh, I thought you'd be there!

Where were you?
When I had no one to turn to
Where were you?
When my worst fears were coming true
Where were you?
I thought you'd come to my rescue

When my prayers bounced off the ceiling
I was facing down my demons
When my legs gave up beneath me
And I fell into your arms

Where were you?
When I had no one to turn to
You carried me through
On your shoulders, black and blue
I never knew
The footprints in the sand were you
Were you

One set of footprints, on a path I'd been on
Now I know they were yours all along"

Love God and the rest will follow.

Letters to...

I have been thinking a lot about legacy lately. To clarify, I am not thinking about death just about legacy in general.

Legacy is like a letter that you leave for the folks around you when you are no longer physically present in a place...

Dwayne Wade left the Miami Heat basketball team after 13 yrs because he wanted to finish his career up at home in chi-town.  He was always a Chicago boy but he had made himself an essential part of Miami and Dade(wade) county during his time with this team. He started and participated in programs for children, the community and the fans. He was a role model to any Miami child in several ways, he left letters for these kids in his own way. Yet when it was time to go home, he left. Nothing would hold him back. At the end of it all, his heart was still in Chicago.

It should be the same with the believers in this world.

While God has deemed it right for each of us to be on this earth for a little while, there will come a time when all of us have to go home. What will your legacy look like when you leave? Have you given all your good to the world? Have you made it a better place? Are you a role model? Have you comforted the weak? Fed the hungry? Taken care of the widows and orphans? Most importantly, have you spoken about your God? Do people know where your heart is?

It's very important to note that no matter how long Wade was in Miami, he never became a Florida boy. He lived there, worked there and was part of life there.  He was always from Chicago.

God asks the same of us, he says that we should be "in the world not of the world."

If you are wondering, well what about the folks who don't believe? 

Here's the beauty of God, we all came from him, all our souls initially belonged to him so whether you believe in him now or not is something that can change by decisions and choices that we make. I was raised to know of God, but there was a time in my life where I chose to not be part of his family.  I wanted to believe in something I could quantify and explain.

How personal is my God? He gave me something that I could use to quantify and explain him.  It was his way of talking to just me. 

Ask God today to prove himself to you. He will!

Want to leave a legacy? What will your letter to the world say?

Love God and the rest will follow...