I have some meaty encouragement for you that is based on three conversations I had yesterday with some buddies.
I have wonderful, wonderful people in my life. I have one or two friends and a great deal of incredible people I classify as good buddies. Yesterday, I had the privilege of chatting with three special buddies. Each conversation began with debrief of work and speaking schedules, new projects, family gatherings and other interesting things. Each conversation was enlightening and each conversation crushed my heart.
As I spoke with each person they faced different situations in their lives that were disappointing and caused them to believe they should just give up, throw up their hands and say “to heck with it”. Each of them had put so much hope and work into their projects and suddenly the answer was no or they faced yet another rejection. How many times can a person get kicked in the face and expect to get up? How much courage is one person expected to have day after day?
Each person told me, with tears in their eyes, that they had it. They were at the end of the line. They felt like they were failures and believed they obviously were not cut out to make a difference or to move forward with their dream. They felt discouraged, alone, tired, bitter, useless and just plain ole wrong.
Believe me, I so get that. My heart sank and I cried with each person knowing exactly the type of heartache and sadness they were experiencing.
So comes today. I will tell you what I said to them. Please hear me on this. For those of you that know me or know of me, you know that my heart is to encourage, motivate and exhort (push toward movement) toward what you have been placed on this earth to be (not do) but be. I am not a pastor, a phd, the greatest mind, a perfect person or one who goes without struggles. However, I want to encourage you today in this.
The issue that my buddies had, I have and we all continually have is confusing who we are with what we do and many, many more lies. Man, it’s so easy to fail at something and believe that I’m a failure. Or to lose a job and to somehow be fooled into believing that I’m now a loser. We too quickly choose to believe that just because we are harmed, abused or something damaging happened to us that somehow we are damaged goods and can’t be used for amazing things. Of course if our book is not picked up immediately by a publisher or agent or is on the NY best seller’s list somehow we should have never picked up a pen and paper. I’m glad John Grisham did not buy into that one.
The fact is you and I are NOT what we feel or what we do. You are more than a rejection, a budget cut, a contest, more than what someone did to you or said to you, and more than your last failure or disappointment. The only way to combat a lie is with the truth (I think that’s in the B-I-B-L-E) It’s a process, it is not a one time thing. Renewing our mind, feelings are just feelings they don’t change.
I remember watching the funeral service for Michael Jackson on tv. In the midst of all the Hollywood stuff and his accomplishments, the one thing that stuck out for me was what he gave away and how much of it he gave away. I never knew that. To me, the other stuff really didn’t matter. At the end of your days, will it really matter how many books you sold, what a great job you had, how much money you made? For me, I want someone (maybe 2 or 3) shaking my casket with joy knowing I’m in Heaven and a room full of people celebrating and remembering, “Man, Charlotte wasn’t perfect but she lived life as though she had nothing to lose!” How about you? You can do this, my friend!
Now get up and do this!
I double dare you to Dream Madly, Pursue Wildly, and Trust Completely!
Take care
Charlotte
Dream Madly, Pursue Wildly, Trust Completely tm
Copyright © 2020 by Charlotte D. Hunt All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopy, or otherwise without written permission from the author except for brief quotations in printed reviews.
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