In need of change?

No, I don't mean pocket change or coinage if you will.

I am talking about a change of habits.

Why do I ask the question? Because I find myself quite happy and content but must ask myself how I got here?

Simple answer: I changed my habits about four months ago.

I didn't make any noise or fanfare about it. I was simply trying to sincerely practice my faith for the past couple years and then "fate" kind of intervened and it became necessary to make some changes to my daily habits that ushered in this time of happiness for me.

It entailed letting go of some preconceived notions that I had regarding what it means to be a child of a good and merciful God. It meant letting go of some superstitious thinking and habits and opening myself up to being happy even amid some trials and tribulations that I was experiencing.

How is that possible? How is it possible to be happy in the middle of the onslaught of misfortune?

That was a simple yet very difficult reality to grasp and make my own.

The simple part? God knows personally and intimately what it is to suffer as a human being just like us. I knew that He could truly identify with our suffering.

The difficult part? LETTING GO.

Letting go of the the childish habits that had become my false idols and ineffectual security blankets.

I will admit that when I became challenged to finally let go of these false idols, I FELT EMPTY, ALONE and VULNERABLE.

There was a brief time there that I simply had to endure the pain of separation, KNOWING that as that old adage that my dad would often repeat to me as a young man: THIS TOO WOULD PASS.

And it did.

I found that I was much stronger than I had previously realized but that was only because I was able to cling to that tiny but immensely valuable truth regarding my relationship with God, namely that He reached out to me FIRST so long ago and brought me weeping to my knees in response to His suffering. He endured this in order to be able to FORGIVE me personally (spiritually mind you) and hence allow me to gradually forgive myself and those that may have wronged me.

Okay, I have reached a place of contentedness at the moment.

I had no preconceive notion of what this "new" life of mine would look like though.

I was simply trying to be sincere about what I was doing initially and the "change" so to speak came to me.

It was a happy surprise ultimately and a great relief to me to boot.

A great weight had been lifted from my shoulders that I had been carrying for a very long time without knowing it or how it was affecting me.

What now? I believe that we have to be able to enjoy good things when they come to us but do realize that I am a Christian.

What does that mean to me?

It means that I must use this newfound gift of the spirit unselfishly to help spread the gospel. The GOOD news of God's mercy and forgiveness.

A simple way that I can do that right now is to write in this obscure little blog and website.

There are some more concrete ways that I try to share my gifts but right now I am just writing words that hopefully can help someone else find their own peace and contentedness too.

God bless and have a great day!