Whisper Words of Wisdom

  

  To love at all is to be vulnerable. 

 Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. 

If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little    

 luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or  

 coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, 

 motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will    

    become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.

  To love is to be vulnerable. 

                         

 C. S. Lewis 

Becoming Like A Child

                                      Becoming Like A Child


Matthew 18:3 
"And said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

   The older I get and the more I observe children, I am understanding why God says we are to become like a child.
As we get older we become more worried, stressed, preoccupied, cynical of life and full of a undeniable pride. We tend to reserve ourselves and we often become ashamed of sharing our faith and find it hard to express the truth in love.

   Now take time to observe a child, think of your children or nephews, nieces, little brothers or sisters...
Children are humble in many ways. They have no way to take care of themselves and are solely dependent on their parents or caretakers. They are free spirited and carefree. They don't worry about if they will eat or what they will wear or even what they will do that day or the next, because they trust in their loved ones to take care of them. They speak honestly, even when we don't desire to hear it... "What's that red dot on your face?" And say and do the most sensitive loving things when it is unexpected and undeserved.

   They also forgive and forget. If a child has been hurt by someone, they have this uncanny way moving past it and forgive easily. And most often than not you won't hear about it the next day or even the next minute after the offense. 
   Children also have this way of seeing the world as a big adventure yet see the joy in small things. 


   We have all had those moments where we wished we were children again, not having to worry about the stresses of life. We may not be able to go back in time,and honestly I'd rather not live through some of those younger years again. But God doesn't only say we are able to, but should become like children. We are to strive for that. We have to become humbled and remove our independent pride and learn to trust The Lord as our provider. We are to live carefree (in a sense) so we are not full of worry and doubt. We are to express the truth (in love) and shouldn't be ashamed to speak up and share the faith. We need to forgive and forget easily. And we should daily see this world as something to discover without looking past the joys that can be found in the little things. 

Observe a child and learn from them. They can teach you more than you ever imagined!

Happy New Year!

It's a new year! It may just be another day, but to me it truly feels like a new beginning. A new chapter in my life. A clean slate. 2013 was good to me in different ways than I had expected. I wish the lessons I had learned in that year were easier and without the pain I had faced, but I know by God's grace I went through some difficult storms and came out stronger and with a renewed perspective.

I have a undeniable excitement for this coming year. My expectations are high as I look out into these untouched 365 days. I feel as if 2013 has catapulted me into this new year. That pain and suffering I had faced was only a tool to get me to where I need to be today. As I move forward I cannot see clearly what is to come, but I know in my heart I have a peace and joy about it. I know I want to become someone better than I was yesterday, in mind, body and Spirit. I am determined to make my life better and help this world in someway become better too. Of course I can not change the world or become this person I desire to be all in 2014, but just like that beautiful story about the boy by the ocean shore, after the storm brought in countless starfish, a old man saw him throw in one starfish at a time back into the ocean and called out to him saying, "you know you can't save them all..." And the boy simply replied as he looked down at the one starfish in his hand and said, "but I can save this one" and threw it back into the calm of the ocean.

Happy New Year!