Don’t Wait, Act!

 

Many things can rise against us and frustrate our plans. Many hiccups can arise and discourage us. Opposition dismays us and makes us doubt our capability and strengths to continue.

Besides all that can be against us, sometimes, we ourselves are fighting against pursuing and realizing our dreams. I know that can seem odd, and the first answer would be:

“I’m not against my dreams. I fight for them; I do my best.”

Generally, that’s true. We do our best for our dreams. However, we’re not always really acting. Sometimes, we are waiting for the perfect condition to start. We glimpse a bright future but don’t act to achieve it. We delay the action, always saying things like:

“Now is not the right moment.”

“Tomorrow, all will be better; I’ll be more willing.”

“I’m going to start next week.”

“Next year, everything will be different.”

The beginning is postponed, delayed, deferred, and finally; that never occurs. We carry a mountain of regrets and imagine how all could be different if we had acted; how we would be better if we had started…

Don’t carry regrets because of what you would like to do; learn valuable lessons by doing and making mistakes. Do, make a mistake, do it again, hit the target. The pain of trial and error is much less than that of a heart frustrated by not acting.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 (AMP)                                               

He who observes the wind [and waits for all conditions to be favorable] will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.

Look at the Spectacular

Some things impress and fascinate us because their existence seems incredible and spectacular. Some things give us a feeling of greatness, power, and mystery…

We look at nature and are amazed by the size of the great animals; we are astonished by the huge ocean or an interminable desert. And we get even more dazzled when we think about the sky, the stars, and the universe.

And if our hearts and minds are open, we also notice greatness, power, and mystery in tiny things.

We look at our hands and see fingerprints. A unique and unequaled draw not repeated in any person (alive, who has lived or will live). The small ants can carry objects heavier than them. And the bees who have an ingenious system of honey production.

Our vision must be open to the small great miracles we experience daily: wake up, come back home at dusk, have food, have a house…

Many are the blessings we receive from God, but sometimes, we forget their value. We blindly seek the spectacular, the fantastic, and the unimaginable, and despise what is right in front of our eyes.

Each of the Lord’s gifts should be treated with the highest esteem and appreciation because they sustain and support us to achieve greater and greater miracles.

Psalm 23:6

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

A Simple Life

Daily, animals get out of their hidden places to seek their food supply. Each of them knows they must do their best to get what they want. However, during this search, the unexpected can happen.

They may not find what they are looking for. Another animal can take away their goal or disturb their search. Or they may find less than expected.

The way animals act brings us some very interesting reflections. They don’t care about news of the economy or politics; nor do they worry about what is beyond their reach.

If something goes wrong, or they are wronged; they don’t revenge, and don’t alter their character to reply to the situation. They keep faithful to what they were created to be.

They also don’t worry about the future: days, months, or years. The very thing they are concerned about is winning that day.

May the animals’ ways inspire us to go ahead; to have an incorruptible and immutable character, and to calm anxiety, living each day at a time.

And above all creation is the Lord, who created them like us. God protects all He made. The creation only needs to be attentive to the voice of the Creator.

Matthew 6:27-28

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Children

A child is led by their parents everywhere because they don’t know where to go. Besides that, the path may be dangerous. They can follow the wrong way, or some bad company can get close.

Parents ensure their protection, guiding them by hand, indicating where and how they must follow, and putting away all that could disturb or hurt them. Parents do their best to keep the child well.

And the child, even not knowing where is going, trusts in their parents. They don't even know all the details of the journey; they know their parents would never lead them to something bad. And even when the child thinks that was led to an unpleasant place, they find out that all makes sense, and all had a good reason.

When we are children we have more faith and trust than when we become adults. We don’t believe in the path that God is leading us on. We think that He doesn’t care about us, or He has abandoned us.

But the truth is: like a Great Loving Father, the Lord sees the whole path and the final destination. He leads us through paths that will make us grow, develop, strengthen, and become all He dreamed of.

Psalm 25:4-5

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

Reply to the Gospel of the Ostentation

If you think like that, everything is wrong,

Your heart's contamination has already been done.

The truth of God, you cannot see,

You think to be Christian is with God trading.

God does not accept negotiation nor reward,

The offer that is given must come from the heart.

The most expensive gift, God already gave us,

The Lord has chosen and conceded salvation to us.

The offerings are for the works to be kept,

To the ministries grow and save lives,

The offerings are to pay all bills,

They are not a coin you can deal.

You have to abandon this demoniac greed,

You must remember the beginning, what God promised.

God promised He would lead your soul to salvation,

He did not promise He would give you things for ostentation.

Jesus Christ himself was an example of humility,

Being the son of God, He had no property.

For the whole land, only with his feet, He walked,

Even not a little old donkey, He bought.

The apostles had almost nothing,

Jesus’ followers left the houses where they were living,

To them, what was essential never lacked,

All that was needed, the Lord provided.

You have no right to humiliate anyone,

They are God’s creation, you have to help everyone.

If you do not do it, your soul you are condemning,

The god of this age, in your body, is inhabiting.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume III.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/3nG5R5

Learning on Difficulties

Sometimes life goes through ways not planned,

It occurs what is not desired, and does not happen the hoped.

Initially, we get uneasy, without knowing the reason for it,

We want to know why that thing is happening.

We stay sad, nervous, and revolted about the situation,

We want to know the reason; we seek an explanation.

Although we tried, we will not be able to clarify,

We will not reach a conclusion, although we desire.

For some time, we got very anguished and frustrated,

But this goes away, and soon we fight for everything to be solved.

For what seemed impossible, we can find a way to solve it,

Then, we can rest, and we feel great relief.

After some time, we know there is happening a similar problem,

Immediately we think, “I have the experience to solve that problem.”

We help that one who was sad and did not know what to do in his life,

We give them strength and we support them to go back to good times.

After that, we can understand the context of everything,

We passed through a bad situation to learn something.

God taught us how to deal with that complicated situation,

Then, through our help, another life could have a transformation.

This poem is part of the book Life Through the Words.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/bQpQ7d

Light Days and Dark Days

Every day, the sun rises and fills the whole Earth with its wonderful light.

This certainty makes us feel comfortable and safe. We know that there will be sun and a lightened day. All will happen according to the plan, another day like any other.

But there are days when the sun hides itself. Dense dark clouds cover its light. The sky gets dark, announcing a storm. We feel fear and insecurity because we don’t know what will come.

The storm falls impetuously; everything goes down the drain. Nothing stands where it was; peace turns into chaos.

Similar situations happen in our lives. Everything is working perfectly, as we had dreamed. And, suddenly, something changes, and we are shaken.

We think the storm will be endless; it will be forever and will never go away…

But as the storm goes away the sun shines again. Our lives will be restored as well. The storm that seemed to be the end will bring us renewal. It will raise new opportunities and fresh starts; everything will be new.

Psalms 107:28-29

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.