Here's a shout out to all you fathers out there. Parenting is not for the weak at heart, but YOU CAN DO IT because God--the best Dad there is--has got you covered.
They say you get two chances at a happy childhood--when you're little and then when you have kids of your own. So even if your pops was absentee, unattached, distracted, or just plain mean, cheer up. You get another shot when your kids come along. Decide in your heart now that the dysfunction stops with you because you're going to turn it around and be the best dad you can be for your family. Amen~
Yesterday we looked at trailblazing as a great thing because it opens up doors for us to bless others. But one amazing thing that Pam discovered that I found remarkable as well was that right there --deep in the jungle, where dead cows are thrown into the water so others can bathe without fear of piranhas nibbling at their extremities--where the days were long and exhausting providing care to hundreds of children--where there was not one modern amenity--right there in the middle of all that--Pam felt perfectly happy. Overwhelmingly happy, to be exact.
Well, I am a little jealous.
You mean to tell me that it is possible to be genuinely happy without spending a dime? Without going to a dinner and a movie? Without buying something/anything? Having to sleep in a bunk bed in a room with someone you just met on a river boat in the middle of nowhere???
I promise you that when I saw Pam after her trip, without even knowing the details yet, I told her that she looked positively radiant--10+ years younger even.
And all this because for one glorious moment everything coalesced for Pam. She realized that she was doing what God called her to do, and it was grand.
Not even a vacation in the finest hotels in Europe with the finest cuisine could ever even come close to the pure joy she felt out there so far from home and so far from every basic necessity that we hold so dear.
I can have joy making sacrifices? I can have happiness serving others? I can be content working long hours with no recognition? I feel satisfied not getting paid for my time? Sounds counterintuitive, but yes you can.
The point is not that you have to necessarily copy everything Pam did to feel like her. But rather, be willing to use whatever gifts, talents, and skills you have to make someone else's life better. That is where you will find the joy.
Examine your life and if you have been feeling down, maybe it's time to take a different approach. I myself have not been called to be a pediatrician here or anywhere else. Nor have I been called to be an astronaut or physicist or professional football player. But I do consider myself to be a gifted optimist, so I try to encourage every one around me every day.
And I have found that encouraging others greatly encourages me. Win-win:)
1 Peter 4:10 "God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another."
No excuses, people. Like it or not we are each gifted. Pam has shown us that in using our gifts to help others, we are the ones who in turn are happy:)
PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Maybe what's missing from our lives is that we are not using our unique gift from You to help others. Open our eyes to what we need to be doing so that we may be joyful. In Jesus' name, AMEN~
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