Do you ever feel you do the same thing every day?
Do you see the world as colorful?
Are you ever excited about absolutely nothing?
What percent of your time is spent thinking about fairness, duties, and the cold hard facts of life?
Can you step back and see a bigger picture?
The truth is that there is great evil in this world. There is also great beauty. Sometimes...often...the evil hurts so much that the beauty does not seem important. There are problems that must be solved, guilt that must be dealt with. But what of Joy? Do you see the miracles?
If you can trust your guilt to God, believe he means it when he says that Jesus paid all, then you can go on to live vibrantly. If you can, with thanksgiving, let God know what it is you would like then he will give you the peace that is more than you can understand. (Philippians 4:6-7) That is what trust is you know - don't worry, just let God know and be thankful. This will set you free from the evil to enjoy the beauty.
I once heard a story of what would happen if the stars only appeared once every 1000 years. It went something like this;
If the stars only came out once every thousand years no one would sleep that night. The government would outlaw lights unless special permission was granted. Everyone would travel to a place that was guaranteed to not have clouds. As the first stars appeared there would be ooos and aaahhs. Everyone would marvel and be in raptures as the sky was filled. We would be so thankful that this amazing beauty, rarely seen, was ours to observe for an entire night. As the last star faded in the morning, we would wish again that it would happen every night.
When you look at the stars at night, how long do you stare? In the approximately twenty five thousand five hundred and fifty nights that you will see stars in your life time will you ever once appreciate it as much as you would if you only saw them once?
Can you see clean water today the way you would if you had just spent four months in the bush in Africa? Can you see your friends the way you would if they had just been cured from a fatal disease? What else could be taken from you that you have just never noticed? Notice it. Enjoy it with all your heart. Thank God for it. We are so blessed. Some people know this and some people don't. Do you know it? You can. At first it will seem that the little joys of life are too small and too few to live for but as you practice loving them to the full you will begin to see more of them, the miracle of each one, and the God behind the miracle. It's worth it.
I Hope You Dance
I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,
May you never take one single breath for granted,
GOD forbid love ever leave you empty handed,
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking,
Loving might be a mistake but it's worth making,
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to selling out reconsider,
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
I hope you dance....I hope you dance.
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.
Dance....I hope you dance.
