Saturday, November 27, 2010

New Beginnings: You Gotta Have Hope

Finish this sentence: There is a person inside of me who wants to......
Then consider what fulfilling that desire would take. Probably somewhere in the list "hope" would show up. If not, it will need to. Why? Because whether it's a matter of fulfilling our desires or overcoming a difficulty or disappointment, hope is the fuel for moving forward.

Consider my friend Daniel. He and Kate, the love of his life, had finally decided that their careers, which has kept them 2000 miles apart for six year, had to take a back seat to their love for one another. Kate found a job in California and on New Year's Eve Daniel proposed and slipped a ring on her finger. New beginning! It seemed like the hope that had flickered but never died had at last been fulfilled. It was short-lived, though. On New Year's Day Daniel was out for a bike ride and was struct by a car. The driver left Daniel for dead.

Hope was hard to come by those next twelve months as Daniel struggled for life--for breath.
His body was broken and often it seemed that his spirit was too. Kate came to his bedside daily. She was tireless in speaking words of hope in Daniel's ear as he lay in an induced coma.
One year and 37 surgeries later, hope won out. Daniel miraculously walked out of the hospital. Keep the fire of hope burning!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Our Need To Let God

The power to let go is more potent than we might at first think. With a spiritual mind set enfolded in a prayer for release, it, sometimes quickly, some slowly, erases from our mind and heart what no longer serves us.

We can let go of troubling emotions and self-defeating thoughts. The Keys:
1. Notice the thought and where it will take you if you continue.
2. Give it to God--The Wisdom and Love of God know what to do with it.
3. Replace it with a positive thought--like something you are grateful for; something that makes you smile.
4. Don't let the negative thought or emotion back in. Close the door of your mind on it.

The Serenity Prayer is perfect for this practice: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can (myself and my own thoughts), and the wisdom to know the difference.