The great thing about writing is that it gives you time to reflect, and this week has been an incredible week to reflect on. Being a part of the Christian community I get to hear what the word of God is doing in people’s lives and also what the word has brought forth from people. This week was truly remarkable because I heard some incredible things, things that can not only help believers in Christ, but can help truly anyone.
1. Be flammable. One of my good friends Devon Frye, who I consider my big brother and my biggest leader taught me this lesson. We must allow ourselves to be flammable. Everyone knows that person at your job or at your school who is just full of passion and seems like every day they are ready to go and ready to conquer the world. The world has its way of breaking us down and hurting us and making us feel worthless. The world has its way of giving us coats that allow us never to be touched by the tender flames of Jesus. When we are flammable we set fire to everything in our path that is ready to be flammable as well.
Let us be more flammable at our work place. Let us show that we are passionate about whatever we are doing even if it is not the greatest job because we have already been given the greatest gift we will ever be given; life. Let us be passionate, let us be on fire, let us not let broken hearts hinder our attitude about life. Let us be flammable and catch fire and never stop burning.
2. Lose yourself. This lesson was spoken by Robinson Costa, a member of the508. Yes, indeed we must not be afraid to lose ourselves just as Marshal Mathers “Eminem” stated, “You better lose yourself in the music, the moments…” Yes I don’t have to say the rest because you are probably already rapping it in your head right now. By allowing our lives to be surrendered to a higher being and a higher cause, we are allowing our earthly desires and our earthly sorrows to be washed away and put in the hands of something so much greater than us. It says in Matthew 16:24-26, “Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I will show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.”
Sacrifice your desire to keep pursuing that girl or guy who has never given you the attention. Sacrifice your desire of getting paid that higher salary and doing so by whatever means possible. Sacrifice your desire to always take matters into your own hands. Sometimes we have to just lose ourselves and let our lives go. Just like one of my favorite songs, “Touch the Sky” by Hillsong, says, “I found my life when I laid it down.” Maybe that big future and that revelation that you keep hoping for will only become clear when you lose yourself.
3. Keep dreaming. Natalia Santos, another member from the508 gave a wonderful message this week about giving your dreams to God. Like I said earlier, life has its ways of beating us up and bruising us and leaving some deep scars. Often we lose sight of the dreams we always had for our lives as children. She told a story about how she was given a book just last week and told to write down what her dream future would look like and after she did that she took a second and held on to those dreams, then she let them go and said “God I can have these dreams, but I give them to you, do what you want with them.”
This idea of having your dreams, but not holding on to them is key. Your dreams do not define you, God does. Let your dreams be as big as possible, but give them to God. If we can not hold on so tight to our dreams the anxieties and stress and everything that is associated with failure will vanish. We will walk confidently through any task that lays in our way.
4. If someone is willing to walk away from you, let them walk. One of my friends, Anthony Iannicelli, sent me a message this week by Bishop TD Jakes. This message can help so many people. Maybe you are struggling with a job, a relationship, a career. If someone is willing to walk away from you, let them walk. You are only hurting yourself if you are willing to chase someone or something that is willing to walk away from you. The message says that there is only one person you can resort all your confidence and all your emotions in and that is Jesus. If someone is willing to walk away from you, they have lost faith in you.
Jesus does not lose faith. There are other people out there that will not lose faith in you either. Do not harp on that one person who is willing to walk away because there is a whole lot of other fish out there in the sea. Be optimistic! Be confident in yourself! Be able to accept the fact that even if no women or man ever comes into your life that you will still be happy because you are happy with your relationship with yourself. If that job, if that sport, if that person, does return the happiness that you dreamt it would, let it walk.
