'God has given me my 'road to Damascus' experience. But I'm not yet in Damascus speaking to Ananias. The scales have yet to fall off. I can't see yet what it is I'm saying. God has made me for more than working in two-bit jobs. But what? I know the sole purpose of man is to love and serve the Lord. So how can I do that and still earn a living?
fr: PreciousGift (in an email conversation last wk of jun 2001)
I was going over some email with a deep friendship I once had taking stock of a connection. I came across a recurring thread in his life. I saw my younger self responding and I wondered what I would say now as I am striving more to make my passion my profession. I encourage him with thoughts that had stirred me at the time like the sermon title...
Going to have to refer to the sermon on Sunday, the title was 'When God has a picnic' referring to the little boy w/ the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes. With what little amount given freely by the little boy, look what Jesus did -- He fed 5000 people. Meaning that it is all about what God can do with what little we have to offer. Too much for this small brain of mine. ~k
A good thought but I wanted to stir up the pot again to see what was clear and what was not. See, I really had no answers back then. I was sitting on a dream. A dream to write was squashed so little it was 'oh, wouldn't it be nice to write a song and have some great male country voice sing it?' I was too afraid to write a novel because poems where more my speed. etc ...
One thing that is really loud to me over the years was to dream and passionately go for it. Yet, for some reason I was doing my share of 2bit jobs. However, in these 2bit jobs there was something for me to learn. Though I wished for easier passage, I carry the gifts of sensitivity, confidence of my brain, Joy, a sunny surface, and love service into my dreams. In fact my dreams are richer because of my dark passages and 2bit jobs!
One of my biggest lessons was my sence of balance. I have divided my life in half, one side my professional side or the giving outward side and my personal side or my inward side. As of now my professional life contains a job that is a good fit and the atmosphere is much improved over the previous job. It provides a home, food on the table, healthcare, and gas for my jeep. To balance myself my personal life is all about painting, writing, and all things creative. It feeds my heart and soul. Even though my passion is not yet my profession, I am hungry and full all at the same time. I am Joyful. My journey is more focused now to moving in the direction of my passion.
His purpose is not to save us from pain and suffering,I believe soooooo strongly that our passions where tucked there when we were Created by God in the womb to be unleashed and given to this world for this very passion is needed by the world.
but from meaninglessness!
We need to let ourselves become the unique individuals that God created us to be.
fr: the Barbarian Way
I am very keen on knowing what fills your love tank.
I realized that not only does God speak our primary love language to show His Love to us, but we speak our primary love language in showing our love to God.We must know what is love is. To me it is words of affirmation. I am much more at peace and in love with my God because of exhaling and inhaling here on my llj blog. Here I bring what I hear from His Voice and then I return my voice back to Him. Sundays are not a day of rest unless I can talk to Him here. Once my love tank is full from His Fountain, I can fill their love tanks with their brand of love (words, quiet time, service, gifts, & touch). Here in this place I can delight in Him and walk tall in this peaceful love. Our connection it vital.
The tragedy is that people who choose not to love are never happy people. Their lack of love hurts not only the other person, but it atrophies their own souls. People who refuse to love live on the edge of desperation.
The opposite of connection is abandonment. The opposite of acceptance is rejection, and the opposite of nurture is abuse - physical or verbal { absence! } {yeah, I am not the only person screaming this! }
fr: the Love Languages of God by Gary Chapman
I feel PreciousGift's dreams and profession. I would like him to see the need to keep a Day of Rest. It was God-Designed and a God-Given gift for us to live a fuller life. At this time when his profession is far from his passion, I feel he should visit a health care home where he can go and visit other people in need of physical touch. Oh, I know this would fill his love tank so and his visits would be the most coveted in the place! He would feel God in this place. Then when he is finished long after visiting hours { wink } , he could spend some time near Nature like the ocean.
With his professional side being full of 2bit jobs like farming, waitering, and other hard labor, his salesman skills are wasted. I would like him to see that he still can be a salesman. I remember him telling me that he didn't want to write the book with me because in order to sell the book, you must be 'naked' meaning transparent and that I wasn't. So here is 'naked'! He really needs to take a look at all that is precious to him and really get himself immersed in it. He needs to see his profession as a place to show his brand of love-giving and a way to connect (touch) to others. When he sells what he knows is True to his own heart and soul, others will see the joyful PreciousGift and not the angry one.
One day he will be able to say, 'My passion is my profession'. One day he will look back and see his life history and be able to trace all the good gifts God had provided for his journey...
I also know that this is PreciousGift's journey and his decision... I will always cheer him on towards his passions and dreams...
One parting thought about 2bit jobs...
Atmosphere is huge when it comes to our jobs. It can break us or make us grow. My past job has made me very conscious of this ... We can make an atmosphere good and then there are times when the atmosphere is so heavy that it begins to eat away at our very soul & you will need to know this is God leading you in a different direction... Well, this is my naked 2cents on 2bit jobs...
(Braveheart)
"What you do on earth echoes through eternity."
(Gladiator)
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