Persevere



Let me begin by saying if you haven’t ever seen ‘It’s a Wonderful Life” you should. With that in mind; I so often find myself relating to George Bailey, the main character. George had a wanderlust that went unsatisfied throughout his life. He finds himself in a very difficult circumstance and wishes he had never been born; he is granted this wish and gets to see what the world would look like without him. It is haunting and eye opening. While this brings George to the realization that he did have a wonderful life, it never does satisfy his wanderlust.
Now, I have had the opportunity to travel and quite a bit to be honest; travel is much like a drug for me, I need another fix. I would even like to go so far as to move to entirely different region and find out what it is like to live in someplace new. In my 55 years I have lived within a 40 mile radius of where I grew up. I find myself searching the internet for ideas and daydream about the “what ifs” imagining that it will somehow be better than my current existence.
While there is nothing inherently wrong with these daydreams, they can lead to discontentment, frustration and even anger. I’ve certainly had the desire to run away from home more often as an adult than I ever did as a child. I constantly remind myself that I do have a blessed life, a beautiful life and more importantly I am exactly where God wants me to be (you are too). I know this because the bible reminds me of this fact.
Matthew 10: 29-31 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
And my very favorite verse Psalm 139: 16 “ Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
Whether your days are filled with joys or sorrows, God is right there with you, loving you, guiding you and giving you strength. Satan really wants us to forget that. For those truly difficult days read James 1 for a boost. I am considering verses 2-4 in particular:
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Persevere my friends!

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