As you walk toward the end of the year, it is quite easy to sink in despair and accuse your situations in life to the political system that you live under, or point out the crises going in the world and the dismal prognoses blaring from the television about the future, or to blame the limitations of what you think you cannot do, to the non-affluence or affluence that you were born in, but do not do that. Weighing the outcome of what you do with your life by the world’s standards will never put you in the driver’s seat of mastering your life.
It takes guts to look realistically at the boiling points or the dreams in your life and seek answers that will help you come out of a lethargic mood of , "everyone else is the problem," and start to weathering the storms of life by changing your thinking and saying, "I can do that." Taking that responsibility may seem difficult, and yes, it is scary, but once you have decided to cut the strings of the past and slay that dragon called "I can't," that is slumbering within you, you move forward to that which you have always wanted to accomplish, and events happens, that opens doors and brightens your way, a little at a time. Of course, you may not see the change and you may not even feel it, but that is not a prerequisite for progress. People who move progressively forward never see the miles they have gone until they reach their goals. They are too busy to look back, too busy to listen to the, "that can't be done people," too busy to sit and complain and gripe about the whole system. People like this are smart enough to know that change always begin within themselves, by their taking one step at a time.
One of the men that I admire greatly had a serious problem with alcohol and women. He partied hard as the Americans would say, and he squandered every penny that his father gave him. He was sent to school to become a Pastor, but because of his behavior and his lack of morals, he was put out of the seminary. He went through various jobs, which his father had arranged for him and he did not make it through any of them. He was incorrigible and, in his own words, a first class scoundrel.
Yet, this man, when faced with an intensive look at himself in the Creator's mirror, repented and received a new life. He was chosen to start an orphanage in England, which would become the model for his faith and trust in the Word of God, and for many orphanages that were started based on his plan all over the world. Like Paul, he had an encounter with the Being of all Beings, who turned his life around. This encounter changed his life and one step at a time, he began to walk in that divine purpose for which he had been born. (May I add here, that his English was terrible, when he first arrived in that country.)
The man was George Mueller, a German, who went to England and cared for the homeless children who were living on the streets of London.
So, as you start walking towards the year 2012, do not spend the last day of 2011 talking about all the bad things that happened in the year and also write off all of your accomplishments in 2011. The Spirit of God moves, which means he does not stand still.
Instead, start thinking about the future. Start dreaming about moving farther in your life purpose and start planning right now to give the very best that you have to give in 2012. Pick out a part of your life where you want to see change take place and begin doing it. No matter what you have accomplished this year, it is over. Forget the past and move forward, reaching out and living your best life. As God told Joshua after the death and mourning of Moses, and let me paraphase it in my own words, "Moses is dead. It is time to move on."
So, quietly lay down the burdens of 2011 and press on towards the mark of your calling in 2012.
Happy New Year Everyone and Be Blessed!
Shalom,
Pat Garcia
