It’s Morning Coffee

It’s a Coffee Kind of Morning…

And the few mornings that I have where I can spend some time thinking through things, and when I have some productive results, well, let’s just say they are not as frequent as I would like them.

However, I do find myself waking early just so I can spend some quality time preparing my morning for the tasks that weigh down my calendar. This morning was somewhat like that. It was just getting light outside, 5:15 or so, and I glanced at the weather conditions and noted it was 35 degrees, but the high is forecasted for 72…more than double the comfort zone of what I wished all mornings were like!

Breakfast, Coffee, Devotional, and just some good ol’ “me time” (about 45 minutes or so) gave me a thought to consider for this Coffee Kind of Morning.

Moving Forward sometimes means backing up a step or two, reviewing the options of the near and far future, consider what said future may have in store, ponder which directional change makes more sense, and then boldly go where no man has gone before!

If I’ve learned anything in life, and now in my 60’s I can say I’ve learned a thing or two about the variety of choices we all have, then may I share that you can never go back to a place of your past and think it will all be the same. That place and time has changed, moved on, just like you’ve moved on. Those treasured memories of history exist in your mind, but the reality of location proves over and again that life is always about Moving Forward.

Ancestry DNA studies show that we all have connected pasts to some portion of the globe that has nothing to do with who we are in the present. But what I am not does not limit me to what I can become unless it is a biological impossibility. It’s really a simple thought. We cannot morph into anything we please no matter what Hollywood teases us with – it’s all Fiction and Fantasy.

However, what I choose to become is something within my realm of possibility, as long as I know my limitation and define the “workarounds” to solutions! I can tell you that life is full of this equation.

You only get stuck in your life when you fail to learn the concept of workarounds.

It’s almost like James Tiberias Kirk (ok, I know this is Fiction and Fantasy revealed, but it is a good quote), “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario!” But my research into this quote pointed me to someone who has been in a no-win scenario and showed me how you can still accomplish as much as possible, and live your life to the fullest… If you are really interested in my research you will check out this YouTube video by Randy Pausch and listen/watch his “Last Lecture” touching on life as he was facing the ending of his life via cancer.

There are some life events that are a no-win scenario, but how you choose to face them shows the type of person you are, and you become that hero to so many. One of his quotes about this?

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” ~Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture 

Maybe this is the best thought for me to think through this morning over a cup of coffee. The challenges I face that are unique to me. But challenges, in general, are no different as faced by millions and billions of inhabitants every single day. Only… How I choose to face them shows me the type of person I am capable of being.

As you pause in your day and look forward to the future, what challenges do you see? How will you address them?

I’m thinking of many Bible Story heroes that show me that persevering through the challenge is the person I choose to be…

• Daniel being tossed to the Lions by the King and hearing the very one who commands his punishment say, Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”  (Daniel 6:16, NKJV) And after a sleepless night, this same King calls out to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20) What a witness of God’s provision and the example of a life who trusts God for protection in the harshest of times. Daniel never begged for the punishment to be waived. He simply trusted God for the solution.
• Of course, the book of Daniel also deals with the 3 Hebrew Children who are cast into the fire because they refuse to bow and serve the god of the lands. Their witness to the challenge ahead, “…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17-18) Of course, we all know their story and their miraculous victory over the fiery furnace.
• Joseph, favored by his father and apparently disliked by all his brothers, suffers a fate that must have seemed to be the end of his world. His brothers ambush him, sell him into slavery, and when he finally had the opportunity to extract his revenge, speaks to these same antagonists, “…you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive. Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. ” ~Genesis 50:20-21
• Peter goes through a personal trial with potentially huge repercussions. He is told he will deny Jesus three times, by Jesus himself. “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” (Mark 14:31) But the trial came and he did. He goes out and weeps bitterly. (Matthew 26:75, Luke 22:62) But he has some quality time with Jesus after the trial and I can only imagine that healing took place that is not recorded. (John 21:7)
• Paul ends up in prison and from this vantage point he writes letters to churches he was responsible for.
• John ends up in exile on Patmos and from there pens the prophetic book of Revelations.

There are long lists that can be made by all of us, and your examples of people going through challenges and persevering to success can astound and amaze us all. Here’s what I want to leave you with today. Life happens. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Challenge yourself to become what you are capable of being. Face the future. Boldly conqueror your day!