surfguy19's Blog

There is a beginning and an end to everything that exists in the temporal plane. If there is belief in things beyond, it is thought that there are some things that have no such limits, but, be that as it may. Let us concern ourselves only with these thoughts. There is birth, and there is death. Each of us is given these things upon our creation, and they follow their courses. Yet what do we do with ourselves in this time? What do we create, what do we dream, what do we imagine, what do we accomplish, what do we design, what do we find? Who do we meet, who do we help, who do we encourage, who do we strengthen, who do we uplift, to whom do we give hope, to whom do we give life, to whom do we give purpose? These are the things, the people, the places, the events, the times, the thoughts, the myriad ideologies that shape our person. These things will all be decided by our perspective of life. If we spend our lives imagining ourselves in ruts and daily grinds, we will accomplish dull, ordinary, and unimpressive things. We will be poor companions, less than productive employees, intimidated members of society, and our products will be redundant, ordinary, and far less than our potential is capable of producing. If we spend our days and lives on the defensive, our productivity will drop to near zero as we expend all of our energy defending what we think we know, instead of opening ourselves to a world of learning. Relationships will be a constant flow of conflict, finding every advance or attempt at moving further in the relationship as an attack. It will result in a self-made shell keeping every good thing in this world at a distance, unable to impose upon you and so make you better. It also locks your potential and available resources, valuable to society, inside a box of protection and safety.

But, suppose we were take a fresh look at life every single day. If we were to find newness and freshness in every morning. If our lives were revitalized upon waking every morning. We could face our troubles with a fresh outlook, seeking creative ideas for overcoming them. We could approach our work with a renewed vigor and fresh ideas. We could meet our relationships anew each day, remembering the joy that existed upon first meeting that person, and working to renew that feeling every day. It is a perspective that allows us to free ourselves of worry and fret, of burden caused by stress and trouble. It will not remove the problems themselves, but it creates a new way to deal with them. Today is a brand new day. What happened yesterday cannot be changed, so it is pointless to worry and fret about it. Set your mind to the things that are required of today, and find it within yourself to make this day new and fresh and exciting. It is a wonderful way to approach your life. This is the time of New.

Do you ever feel insecure? I do. I think everybody does, really. I don't think it is possible to live our finite lives as finite beings and not deal with some sort of insecurities. So if it is a part of life, does that necessitate that there is no other alternative. Does that lead us to believe that our only choice is to live with these insecurities, allowing them to dwell on our minds until they have eaten away the last vestiges of our confidence and personality? No, I don't think so. But, I do believe we have to acknowledge them. If we do not recognize our insecurities for what they are, then we cannot take steps toward a solution.
Insecurities result from our humanity. We are mortal, complete with all of the flaws, imperfections, shortcomings, and poor decisions that are cognizant of man and his finite existence. No trust can be put completely in what is finite, for there comes with that the realization that there will be an end to what can be accomplished. That limits are necessarily set on what is available. That also limits the trust we will put in ourselves, in our fellow man, and in what we can accomplish, or what we are able to do. No person can completely trust another person, because all people will meet an end at some point, and with that end must come the end of trust. One may trust to the point of death, but what after? There can be no eternal trust placed in fellow man, because man is not eternal. So then, our security, when based in ourselves, or even in another, whether it be parents, spouse, teachers, or mentors, is valid only for as long as that source of security is able to provide it. Throw into the mix bad decisions that result in divorce, hurt feelings, betrayed trust, and a multitude of other circumstances, and our personal security, when placed in ourselves or in another person or persons, becomes very precarious indeed.
But there is an answer yet. The answer comes in the form of One who can provide a security that is eternal, that is forever, that knows no limits and is based in a power and knowledge that is boundless and diminishes not. This Person said "Trust in the Lord, and lean not unto thine own understanding". Because, of course, our understanding is so very limited. But His is not. He will never betray your trust, He will never let you down, He will never seek His own ends. He is forever your Friend, your Counselor, your Shepherd. He is the source of perfect security. His Names is Jesus and He is eternal. When your trust is in Him, it will not end with death. He promises you a home with Him in Heaven.
Yes,, everyone has insecurities. But they can be covered by the peace that passes all of man's understanding, when your trust and confidence is placed in Christ.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Have you ever sat down and thought about what that means? We hear that statement so often, I'm afraid it has become very trite. Yet, the truth of it resounds through our conscience. It reminds us of the importance of the very minute in which we live, for in the next it is gone. It is also a statement that brings to the fore of one thinking the brevity of the lives we lead. There will never again be another Sepember 13, 2005. What should happen today? How will that differ from what will? Where do we fit in that scheme. Every person, great, small, rich, poor, smart, ignorant, make a contribution to the fabric that describes the days and weeks and years of our lives. Whether our contribution is to grasp an opportunity and make a world of difference, or to ignore it, sit back, and do nothing, we make our choices, and so our contributions. Perhaps what should have been done wasn't. So something has been given, or held, and the flow of events is affected. Our choices affect not only ourselves, but those close to us, our communities, and in turn, the very world in which we live. Imagine if every person living on welfare who has the ability to work decided to find a job. The market would be flooded, men would find new opportunities, new jobs would be created, perhaps even new industries, and our economy would flourish as it never has before. All because a multitude of individuals made a personal decision at a personal level to have an affect on the world in which they live.
Today s available to everyone, but nobody is guaranteed tomorrow. So we must act upon that which we are given. Today.