Life in the "Fast" Lane!

I worked in the early 1980’s at Madison Bank and Trust Company, with a man and woman originally from England, for about five years. I was leaving work one day and all three of us were clocking out at the same time. Our conversation started with me asking them, "Do you miss England"? They both smiled and said, “Yes”; however, we moved to the United States to be closer to our children and grandchildren”.

We carried on about a thirty minute conversation about their journey here and the struggles they faced along the way. None of the travel came easy though. His wife became ill, they did not have a permanent place to live, and they could not work until they received citizenship. The husband mentioned, “Through all of this, we lived off of our savings! Of course they overcame the obstacles, because they understood “Salvation”!

Working was not an option either; however, they obtained a small loan to purchase a house and wanted to eliminate any debt. Within 6 months of our conversation, the debt was going to be "paid in full", so they were anxious to be free of labor and loans. I sincerely benefited from the knowledge and wisdom they freely offered and gained a lifetime "affirmation"! Before we departed our ways, he said, “Keep your life simple”!  He didn’t have to elaborate any further, because I immediately knew what he meant.

The American way ~ seek employment, buy a house, purchase two to three cars, borrow money to travel, and spend beyond our means! The majority of us work 50 to 60 hours a week, lack sleep, neglect family, avoid proper eating and proper hydration~ Why? 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 KJV

There is a TV show on HGTV called, “Off the Grid”. I’ve watched only two episodes; and although one family chose to live in the Sahara Dessert and the other family chose to live in Fuji their goals were the same~ to eliminate a lifestyle of “anxiety”! The families in both of these episodes commented, “We have no stress, we spend “more” time together, we communicate with each other instead of watch TV (which was obsolete before), and we do not regret the move”!  

For when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in, and when your flocks and herds have become very large, and your silver and gold have multiplied, that is the time to watch out that you don't become proud and forget the Lord your God who brought you out of your slavery in the land of Egypt. Deuteronomy 8:12-14 TLB

The Horses are out of the gate........

The Horses are out of the gates, Fear came out strong leading the way, followed close by Anger and Stress. Worry had a slow start, but is coming up on Fear, Anger and Stress fast! “Oh No, here comes Grief out of nowhere”!  The crowd is up out of their seats!

We have Fear that weakens the kidney, and Anger weakens the liver! But Stress truly tops them all~ it weakens the heart and brain! Wow! What a double whammy! And then there is Worry, it weakens the stomach! Coming up in fifth position is Grief; don’t hold your breath, because it weakens the lung! 

They are making the final turn before the half mile stretch to the finish line! Fear is beginning to fade back! Holy Praise and Worship~ Faith has come from behind and passed Fear; followed by Joy who passed Anger and is gradually moving into second! It has you at the edge of your seat! OH Another blessing! Here comes Relaxation, who passed Stress with ease, giving him third place. This is what I call a horse race!

Grief and Comfort are neck and neck. We’ll see who finishes fourth between the two. And swiftly passing Worry is Peace! Inner Peace overpowers Stress and Worry! It also helps you relax! This is such a positive upset! Peace was not even looked at as a favored horse to win this race!  

Peace exudes strength and power! It overpowers impatience, anger, nervousness, and restlessness. It has the ability to improve so many things in your life! I would have never picked Peace to surpass everything. What an impact this horse has! 

With Peace securing first place; we still have Comfort and Grief competing for fourth. Comfort’s jockey digs his heals in and stands up to give the horse speed. Come on Comfort! You can do it! Something miraculously happened ~ Grief just lost his footing and fell off the track! Well we now know Comfort has secured fourth place. Woo Wee that was close. 

It’s not official yet, until the Praise and Worship team gives us the final shout! But the horses have crossed the finish line!

After a short wait, the Praise has come in! In first place is Peace, followed by Faith, who finished a close second.  Third is joy, fourth is Comfort, and fifth is Relaxation. What an upset this race has been. We could not have imagined something positive would come from the negative emotions that started out so strong! I congratulate the owners, trainers and all of those who labored tirelessly to ensure the win! And special Congratulations to Peace, Faith, Joy, Comfort and Relaxation! The Positive quickly ran past the negative to give us V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!

 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” Luke 12:49-53 NIV

National Day of Prayer!