Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Life can either be a Gamble or One of Purpose

This past July, I traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada with my husband. As he attended a work conference, I had time to relax and reflect, and this is what I wrote as I waited to leave for the airport to head back home:

As I sit in my Las Vegas hotel room packed and ready for my trek back to the East Coast later today, I am reminded of a few things on the topic of trusting God and being okay with "not always knowing the outcome of life". The first half of 2015 for me was a time of reflection, truth-telling, questioning why I do what I do and concern for the health and well-being of loved ones. The world is changing around us, there is much sadness, terror and discontent in peoples' lives - it feels a bit overwhelming at times.

Las Vegas is a city of taking chances. People from all over the globe travel to this city, placed inside the Mojave desert, to see the sights, play the slots and live free! This particular trip, I haven't played the slot machines, but I have been to Las Vegas twice before, both times taking my turn at the slots and it was fun. I just made sure I had no expectations and a limit!

The funny thing is, we don't have to go to Las Vegas to take chances, live freely or gamble in life. We can do all this in the comfort of our homes, in our neighborhoods and in our workplace. I believe that each time we do not completely trust God with our marriages, our children, our work, our relationships with others, our "happiness", we gamble and take unnecessary risks with our lives and the lives of those we love.

I'm a planner. Both in work and life, I like to have a schedule, a time line that I can follow to complete the tasks at hand. When I do these things without taking into account what God may want me to do or not by staying true to biblical truth, I'm gambling with my life! I'm not always going to know the outcome of life experiences or seasons and I shouldn't. If I always knew how things would end, why do I need God in my life? If I just depend on myself or those around me, how many possessions I have, how important I am or what makes me happy, I have missed the point of my existence! I was created to make a difference for and love others and to love and be obedient to God. Period. It's hard to do this while the world around me lives in fear, or I worry about my kids or business decisions I make. At the end of the day, no matter my circumstances, I need to walk humbly, stand firm on truth as I believe it, and to love others!

I accompanied my husband on this particular Las Vegas trip, and while he attended  a business conference, I decided to focus on attaining some peace, quiet and sunshine! Coming out of a busy couple of months with events, I wanted to take time and reflect over my current life, busy schedule and ponder where God needs me most. I have enjoyed the sunshine and rest, but I'm also ready to get back to our kids and life back home. During this time, I have been gently reminded, that although many people are gambling with life and who and what they put their trust into, it's also easy for me to do the very same. I can easily get caught up in the day to day tasks as a wife, mom of four and entrepreneur, and it takes my focus off the important things. Living a life that honors God, and serving and loving others should be my focus.

So do you wish you knew the outcome of your life, your story? If you follow Christ, you'll know the ultimate outcome, it's the thing that happens at the end of your earthly life and where you end up at the end of it all. It's okay that you don't know the day to day outcomes of life, and you shouldn't. But you do want to know what comes after your time on this earth and how you have loved and served while living. The question for us all, is do we want our life to be about us and our own happiness or do we want to live for God and others? Either path is a choice, a risk, even a gamble.But at the end of the day, true living isn't without risk. Today, I choose the risk of living for God and others, and tomorrow....I hope I choose the same.

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