Sunday, August 20, 2006

Potential

"The purpose of teaching is to provide students with an experience of their greatness"
So often we live life worrying about not losing, not failing. Yet rarely do we truly commit to seeing and attempting to gain what we can achieve, can win.
I was over on the west coast at Fox last week ice climbing and climbing some hills n what not. Walking along some dodgy narrow piece of glacier with a big crevasse on each side of me it struck me how our minds so easily get preoccupied with thoughts of failure. 'What if i fall, what if i slip'. Instead of merely thinking how great it's going to be when i get accross.
It is often said we each have no idea how many people we influence in our life time. If each of us as individuals manage to allow just one person a month to help "experience their greatness" that is at least 600 people in our lifetime. Easily more.
Step out and see what you can achieve, it is only by facing fear, forgetting what we may lose, instead aspiring towards what we may achieve, that we can in fact live life to its fullest.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Out of place

I was getting ready for bed, walked into my room after brushing my teeth, curtains shut, closed the door. When BUZZZZZZZ. Suddenly i duck as there is a large bee flying around my head. It struck me as quite strange. Strange how out of place it was. Timaru in winter is not an insects paradise. Smog, cold frosty nights, i think its supposed to hit -3 tonight. I dont think i have seen a bee all winter. Let alone inside my bedroom at 11 at night. The bee was just fully in the wrong place.

I got to thinking how often in life we can get ourselves into similar situations. God has given us a unique personality, a unique set of gifts, and has a unique plan for our lives. Just like that little bee has a unique environment it lives best in. Open fields with flowering plants or shrubs and warm conditions.

Yet so often like that bee we end up where we shouldnt be. We think we can direct our own life. We dont need help. We stop praying and stop reading Gods big ol book of directions to us. We ignore what we inside ourselves know to be true.

What happens? Just like that bee we end up somewhere thats not right. We dont fit in there, things dont work out, dont feel right. Then what do we do? If were like that little bee we fly round madly and pointlessly. Until i got a big torch and turned off the light, using the torch to guide it out the bee just flew in circles.

God is our light, and i wonder looking back in my life at how often ive run round in circles ignoring the glaring huge spotlight showing me the way. So often i think i can do it myself, dont need help. Think i should be strong enough and smart enough to sort out my own mess. Hopefully one of these days ill learn that im not. But that thankfully God loves me enough to keep putting me back on track.