Improve and Soar

I, more than anyone, love the age of “speed or quickness”. I love drive thru….banks, fast food, dry cleaners, UPS overnight..…snap chat, texting, email, GPS…all the things that can help me keep going… moving on…….or “getting ‘er done!” You could call them “quick fixes!” I enjoy accomplishing a lot and when there is something that is convenient and easy and mostly “QUICK”, I tend to like it, no, LOVE IT! But quick can be dangerous. As much as I love getting things done, efficiently and quickly….it can goof up areas in my/your/our lives where we expect quick but in reality…..quick isn’t the BEST PLAN. In fact slow…….a snail’s pace slow…..is what God deems best for us to learn, mature, and grow in certain areas or venues in our lives.

I grew up on a farm. Yes, I did and I am proud of it. You could look out any window in my house and see cows. When I was little they had names like “Strawberry” and “Blackberry” and today, I am sooooo grateful we had a garden. Going to the garden in the summer was like finding treasure for me. I would watch my dad plow the soil, then we would spread the seeds and cover them up, or plant the seedlings, and later fertilize, weed and water.

It seemed like it took forever to see a bloom……every day I would look……until one day there would be tiny green tomatoes or 1inch cucumbers….or short beans under the leaves….I can remember walking to the garden and seeing from a distance the green had turned to red or orange…and I knew the tomatoes were ready to be picked! Looking back……now…as an adult I have that picture and memory of how long it took and the care and work it took to get the “end result”, “FRUIT”. It wasn’t at all quick!

What I find, and now have lived….many things in life worth having, or achieving, take time……lots of time! With that, let me just say….such things develop patience, self-control, a work ethic, and an “overall gut check” of why you are doing what you are doing! I believe there is in all of us an eagle that wants to soar or a pig that wants to wallow in the mud. The difference in wallowing or soaring is whether or not we will fight, work, overcome, and IMPROVE to allow ourselves the ability to fly then soar! I love the quote by Peter Lowe, “The most common trait I have found in successful people is that they conquered the temptation to give up.”

To be an eagle and soar….”Give up” cannot be in your vocabulary, just can’t be an option. Patience can only be learned by being challenged! Seriously…..how can you have patience or how can it grow unless you are tested? Learning to reach, seek, achieve…….takes time, and a willingness to seek to improve…..when you embrace the idea of improving….you are in essence choosing to grow, change and be vulnerable…..a.k.a. NOT staying the same and, instead, moving out of your comfort zone.

Diamonds are so beautiful and most married women wear one on their left finger but that diamond didn’t start off with such luster. A diamond starts out as coal…..it goes through a grueling, refining process……in the end it sits glimmering on a finger and admired by others!! Oh, and just studying the eagle and all the things they go through to soar…. and keep soaring and surviving when they are middle aged…too long to write about but go study the eagle!!

The point here being….. success is available and reachable for everyone……the road God has planned is not this straight, smooth path without any challenges or failures for that matter…..that is how we grow and improve……there are many scriptures to encourage, promise and comfort you on your path in life…..it is our choice to believe them, implement them and trust them…the following are just a few to meditate on as you seek to improve, grow and mature…..and Soar…..who wants to wallow???

Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.”…….God is a refuge and shield.

Romans 3:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who can be against us?” …. God, our Creator, is for us!

Psalm 119:105, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light to my path.” God gives us His word to direct us and light the way! WE have a GPS for our lives!!!

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Seeking to improve, taking your life seriously and striving to be the best you…….teaches others and brings Glory to God.

Choose to soar….not wallow……..it may take more time than you think……the journey can be exhilarating and valuable…..not quick….but well worth it with many benefits! I have to leave you with one of my all time favorite quotes by Robert Louis Stevenson:

“The man is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task, who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth’s beauty or failed to express it; who looked for the best others and gave the best he had.”

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