Challenges

Life is full of challenges; they are what helps us grow. That is, if we meet them and recognizes our challenges of life for what they are. Often we miss the opportunity and take a harder path. When we think of a challenge, we associate it with difficulty. A challenge is going to require us to push to our limits, to strive, to go beyond our comfort zone to accomplish something good and worthwhile. Some times we feel we are not up to the challenge and opt out. We want a rest, to pass on this one and not always try so hard. Quite often that easier path ends up being much more difficult and troublesome. We find ourselves in the brier patch or mire.

The struggle to shake off the natural man and become the all we can be, is our underlining quest of this life. Each time we our given a challenge to do better, the alternative in never status quo. If we are not growing we are losing ground. We do find peace in righteous doing and joy in service. The alternative often if fun at first but after a while we find that the glitter wears off and we need to work harder at what we thought was fun in order to have fun. The chores of cleaning and upkeep of our expensive recreation toys can become a real burden. The obligation to keep up our recreation and “get away” programs can quickly defeat their original purpose.

When the road gets steep and life's challenges seem to be more than we can bear, then the true purpose of life shine the brightest. It is at that critical moment that we can only succeed with help from God and without some of our weakness that all to often we cling onto for dear life, or should I say dear death. That could be the core purpose of a challenge, that it is forcing us to choose: between a higher plane and the illusion of comfort with our faults and frailties. Letting go of those weakness may be the hidden agenda of the challenge that God in His wisdom gave to us that we might grow and become more like him.

One might rightfully wonder if we keep repeating some challenge, is because we refuse to let go of weaknesses that are holding us back. The weakness we hold onto for dear life, thinking they give us comfort, security or pleasures. When in reality letting go of those sins and weakness will bring the true joy we seek.

The reason challenges are so difficult is that they do take us out of our comfort zone; they push us beyond what we perceive to be the limits of our abilities. You would think after enough time of stretching and growing that we would realize we are son and daughters of God and we can become like Him. You might think we would know that all things are possible and miracles do happen and faith is a very real element in our lives. He does love us and watch over every step we take and is crying with us in our difficulties, yet as a Wise and All-Knowing God he give us the freedom to grow and change through challenges that push us far beyond who we are, to what we ought to be.

Our comfort is in that he will never let us be tempted beyond our capacity. That is, if we turn to him, he is might to save. Repentance is just another perspective to challenges. This essential element of life is where wisdom comes from. Our objective is not to necessary winning every challenge that confronts us, but just to endure to the end.

We are taught that man is that he might have joy. Joy is the result of effort and has a lasting impact. Fun and good times are often an instant release of excitement and the pleasure. Fun is often derived more from the change and release than from the effort to do something. That is why fun wears thin so fast.

Just as curses are given to us to confront our weakness, challenges are given that we might confront our strengths. May we meet our challenges and do well.

Count your blessing

Have you ever had to guess how many Jelly Beans were in a jar? Some kids would count the ones they could see, other kids just guessed at numbers not having a clue how close they were. Sometime I feel like one of those kids that didn’t have a clue when it comes to counting just how many blessing I have? You can’t see them all; you just know there are a lot of them. Well, to make matters worse it is hard to be grateful for blessing that you have a hard time counting. So here is my plan. First we count the ones we can see. It makes it easier; we just count the red ones first. Then the black, before long we have some idea how many we can see.

Now back to blessing. Blessings are gifts from God. We have the “red ones” that we often overlook until they are not so easy to get. Air, unless we have asthma. Beautiful mountains and sky are blessing, unless our vision is fading and it become a blur or worse. Flowers and trees unless we have allergies. A walk in the neighbor unless our legs are not doing so well these days. Friends, shelter and food are among the staples of life that are always there; unless a disaster hits. Then we count the black ones; we find it easier to count medium size blessing like our health or our work or a good home, family and friends that loves us. Then the ones that are hard to see; some of the smaller ones often slip between the cracks like the still small voice that helped something not to happen. You never know because you responded. Or the helping hand that was no big deal, it was just there when you needed it; and then things went on with out a hitch. It is hard to judge when a burden is being made light. It is hard to know when the path is prepared before you. It is more obvious when it is not happening. But even that is a blessing. Remember that,” this thing shall be for they experience and for they good.” Those hard things must be blessing in disguise. I recall the quote that when the Lord doesn’t want to be quoted it is often told by anonymous. The timing of how thing work out are blessing that are hard to track, just appreciate. So now that we lost count and have to start all over maybe we just want to err on the safe side and be grateful for the Love that is in all of these little and big things. We need not lose our blessing to appreciate them, we only need to say think you. The world and all its beauty were given “to us to gladden the heart and please the eye.” So when these blessing don’t brighten our day then we must have lost count and need to start over. Just a thought.