A valuable lesson revisited

An old friend of mine taught me a great lesson earlier this year. Following is what I wrote back in March 2009 about that lesson. I found it very enlightening to go back and read my thoughts from this spring, to reflect on that time in my life when I first wrote this, and my positive perspective despite all that I was dealing with then; and now, at the end of a very significant decade (1/4/10 correction - so I have been informed that the end of the decade is next year...duh my bad. haha) to realize how this lesson has applied to my life not only throughout this tumultuous year, but every year before and how it will continue to apply every year I am blessed to enjoy hereafter.

When you quit worrying and stressing about the things and people in your life that really don't matter (ahh! my room is a mess, i have to get my oil changed, my car needs to be washed, does my hair look okay?, why doesn't he/she respect me, like me, love me?, is he/she talking about me behind my back? blah blah blah...you get my drift) then you have soo much extra time and energy available for the things and people that really DO matter. Those are the people that make life the gift that it truly is. They should have been your main priority all along...

Simple lesson - and it shouldn't be too difficult to implement that in my life either...in a way, I have already been taking steps to eliminate the negative in my life. So I'm just going to keep on going down the path I am currently on, making the types of choices I have recently been making...and I have a wonderful feeling that I will end up right where I am supposed to be. No more wondering or worrying where I will end up - I'm still curious yes - but the destination is not my main focus anymore - it's the travel time getting there that is the good stuff.

In Him,

Brooklyn

Sharpen your listening skills...gain some clarity :)

A year ago at this same time, someone very special gave me a gift for my birthday, a book called "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. I mentioned in a previous post my habit of buying and receiving wonderful books and just shelving them until I "have time" to read them...and although I have been doing a surprisingly great job of overcoming that old habit of mine (along with several others), I hadn't yet dug into this book. Over the past year I have seen this book everywhere - on my father's bookshelf, in friend's homes, office waiting rooms, heard it mentioned in random conversations, etc...it is almost like God has been trying to get my attention for a year now and get this stubborn girl to finally read the message of "Wild at Heart."

I don't want this post to come off as a push to get you to buy this book or even to read it if you aren't already so inclined. What I do want to get across in sharing this with you is the long awaited lesson I learned - God does speak to us even in this modern day and age - all you have to do is be receptive and listen. So, it appears there is a reason I decided to pick up this book when I did - I was finally at a point in my life where I was able and willing to be still, open my heart, my mind and to just listen.

I'm fairly certain that if I had actually read this book a year ago when it was given to me, the message might not have come across as clearly or I might not have listened to it at all. God speaks to each of us in different ways - and He spoke directly to me through the pages of this book. Just by being open and willing to listen to someone other than myself and my own (often flawed) reasoning, I was able to receive very direct answers to some personal questions I had been dealing with; not to mention how much weight was lifted from my shoulders. The best part though, is He gave me peace and a smile in my soul. I could not ask for better gifts this Christmas. Brooklyn is back ladies and gentlemen. :)

What unanswered questions or desires do you have? Ask God those questions. Share with Him your hurts, your confusions, and your worries. Carrying those uncertainties all by your lonesome is a neverending and uphill battle. So do yourself a big favor -take a moment to just be still and actually listen. He will provide you with your answers...just remember His answers will come in His time not yours - so you may have to put on your patient pants and rest easy knowing that He will give you exactly what you need when you need it.


Much love,
Brooklyn

Click my title link above - I stumbled across this Coffey video today...after creating this post - pretty cool. :)