And Faith Ensues - Chapter Introduction:

Faith is the intersection where everything comes together. There’s faith in the Almighty. There is faith in self. There is faith that all this; life, death, and all the ups and downs between have purpose. There’s faith that the appropriate perspective, decisions and actions will bring true happiness and fulfillment in this life, and faith that even greater rewards will come in the next. When it’s all said and done, there’s faith and faith ensues.

 

 

Maxims/Quotes Excerpt:

With integrity, you are, and will always be, a winner in ways that a scoreboard can't even begin to reflect.

 

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Looking Up

Not so many years ago, I was on top of the world. I was a young man, a college graduate, in pretty good health, in a rewarding and well-paying career, with a positive attitude and the kind of confidence that just didn’t waiver. My confidence didn’t waiver when I decided to seek a more fulfilling job and received offers from each company I’d applied to. It didn’t waiver when I accepted a job dependent on technology never supported before. It didn’t waiver when, within a six-week period from receiving the job offer, I’d found and closed on my first house, relocated to a new state, and settled in to a new career in a completely different industry. Yep, things were coming together as planned. Confidence was in abundant supply. My perspective was, if I stayed positive, I had the power to do anything I set my mind to.

But wait, before you get the wrong impression, I most certainly wasn’t self-absorbed, self-centered, or pompous. To the contrary, I considered myself very much fortunate. In an unassuming way, I endeavored to lead by example with a willingness to share my theories, concerning personal power, with anyone who was in need.

And no intended audience for that message was more important to me than my mom. On a regular basis, she found herself subjected to my self-empowerment beliefs, especially when she would use one phrase in particular. She would simply say, “I’m just going to leave it in the hands of the Lord.” I can almost hear my rebuttal now: “Mom, the Lord gave you a brain, two arms, two legs, and everything else you need to solve your problems. You have to make it happen, not just sit back and wait for divine intervention.” I would suggest to her that she needed to be stronger. I would advise her that she shouldn’t just let things happen, that she needed to take control of her own destiny.

Two weeks into the new job, one week into the new house, I accomplished the most important goal of all. Mom relocated from another state and moved in. Finally, I could take care of the person who had dedicated so much of her life to me. Now, I could really lead by example, more directly challenge her to take control of her life and help her to be truly happy. I could work toward dissolving her financial worries, while supplanting any remnants with better opportunities for the future.

Shortly thereafter Mom took ill. Merely months later, she passed. So much for the plans of having better opportunities and hope for the future. So much for her having the opportunity to take control of her life. So much for all of my so-called personal power and for being able to accomplish anything I set my mind to. The bottom line was, when the chips were down and it mattered most, I couldn’t do a damn thing to stop my mother from dying right before my eyes. I couldn’t do a damn thing but cry and pray, pray that there was a heaven, pray that the Almighty would see her through, pray that I would see her again.

Isn’t it funny that no matter how mighty and powerful we think we are, when the chips are really down, when danger looms, we eventually find our way back to the one and only true source of power: faith. My mom had faith. And it was only after her death, rivers of tears, at times seemingly endless pain and heartache, a little anger, a very much shaken foundation, and much contemplation that I came to realize that faith is what she was referring to when she would say, “I’m going to leave it in the hands of the Lord.” She meant she was going to lean on her faith. Now I understand that she realized some things were simply beyond her control but never beyond the Lord’s. Mom’s philosophy didn’t shatter in the face of a catastrophe, it only made her stronger.

I saw a movie entitled Instinct in which a prisoner unexpectedly grabbed a psychiatrist charged with evaluating his psychological health. Holding the point of the doctor’s pen to his throat, the prisoner threatened to mortally stab the shocked and now very much frightened doctor if he could not tell him what he’d just robbed him of. The psychiatrist, fighting back the tears, responded that his control had been taken. The patient letting him off the hook and having made his point, corrected him, offering that it instead was his illusion of control that he’d lost. In effect, control is something we actually only think we have.

As for me, these days, I’ve managed to regain rock-solid belief in myself. Now, that belief is complementary to my belief in a higher power. Further, that belief has become more complementary to a rejuvenated sense of faith.

And the truth is the house, the job, the money, the prospects—I’d give them all up in a heartbeat to have my momma back to stay. If I had it to do all over again, I’d spend less time telling her what she needed to do and more time simply telling her I loved her no matter what. I’d spend less time worrying about what, or how, she would do in the future and more time finding out how she felt each day. I’d talk less and listen more. I’d attempt to teach less and endeavor to learn more. I’d think less and work on believing more. I’d tell her I was proud of her more than she could possibly say she was proud of me. I’d focus less on work and more on the time spent in her presence. And she would know more and more each day just how much she was loved. But the reality is that I don’t have it to do over again.

I guess when it’s all said and done, all we truly have are our memories, our passion, any wisdom we’ve managed to compile, our attitude, and the respective choices in front of us. All we truly have is our faith and ourselves.

Thanks for investing the time to accrue a little more perspective by way of the path I’ve traveled. And because you have, because of any renewed perspective, promise, faith, and enhanced happiness and fulfillment in your future, my new, most important mission continues to be fulfilled. We can be encouraged; for our futures now promise even more fascinating challenges and interactions in store. The power to influence our respective directions and outcomes is in our hands. Yes, things are most definitely looking up.

And as for anything beyond our sphere of influence, both from personal experience and per my mom, apparently, His hands are never full.

 

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The Majesty

On occasion, let us set aside our computers, mobile phones, pagers, all the technological advancements of today's processed and manufactured superficial world, to appreciate the natural inherent complexity of the truly pertinent and meaningful world all around us. 

How do birds know to fly? 
How do fish know to swim?
How do trees know to grow?
How do the seasons know to change?
Who decides patterns in each evening sky, such magnificent masterpieces of purple, blue, orange, and yellow?
How is each and every one of the billions of us so intricately constructed, and so fundamentally unique?

Majesty absolutely surrounds us every day.

And if we take time to respect and appreciate the wonder of it all, through humility,

One day, we just might discover the glory of God.

 

The Perfect Gift For Yourself Or Someone Else You Care About

 

 

>> Next Chapter	Born To Lead	Then Life Happened
Perspective, It's Here Somewhere	The Personal Touch	A Little Gratitude
Playing With Passion	Eventually, Death Visits Us All	And Faith Ensues