I thank you for stopping by and reading my thoughts. My blog has moved. If you go to http://www.laniciawilliams.com you can continue to follow me. I thank you for transitioning with me. I look forward to continuing to growing in God with you!
LaNicia
What have you learned lately? http://www.latarahamying.com/2010/07/have-learned-lately/
What’s Changed? http://www.latarahamying.com/2010/07/whats-changed/
What Do You Believe? http://www.latarahamying.com/2010/06/do-believe/
Unconditional Love
Perfection is not possible in the human existence. We can be good and we can also be great, but we’ll never be perfect. In all of the relationships that I’ve had, currently have, or will have, there will always come a time when disappointment will occur. I won’t always do or say the right things. I won’t always have a smile on my face. I won’t always be attentive enough or affectionate enough. I’ll say some things that I shouldn’t say. I’ll do some things I shouldn’t do. I might forget a birthday or not be in attendance for a special occasion. I might expose too much of myself or not enough. There will always be a greater expectation of us that is greater than our ability to meet.
I will never be able to recount, perceive or foresee the countless times that I have or will disappoint not only others but myself. It just happens. Sometimes it’s intentional; sometimes a slip of the tongue. Sometimes it’s like an earthquake; it just happens without warning. Other times it may be like a tornado; it festers and becomes a whirlwind that builds momentum and only has destruction on its mind.
Love is a complicated matter. We fall in love, we fall out of love. We chase love and we throw love away. Love is not only an emotion but a language. Some people embrace love, others don’t believe it exists. Love has one purpose: to affirm. Love validates not only who we are, but who we aspire to be. There is nothing bad about love. Love exists to make us feel good. Even tough love is meant for our good. Love creates a sense of belonging. Who doesn’t like being where they feel loved? Anywhere else doesn’t feel comfortable. When we don’t feel loved, our insecurities become our mirror. When love is lacking, it’s hard to not be defensive. There will never be enough love, but there will always be a lack of love.
Promises are made in love and because of love. Forgiveness is given because of love. Compassion exists because of love. Everything good lives because of love. Imagine life without love. Who would be able to survive a life without love? It is inconceivable to imagine life without love. We are always looking for love. We long to know that there is someone who can look beyond our imperfections and shortcomings and love us just because they choose to love us. We’ve all experienced failed love; a love that lived until it died or love that died before it could live. A love that could endure forever until it could not last anymore. We have all fallen in love and out of love. It’s hard to imagine that a love that’s all good all the time can exist. People fall in and out of love, but love only falls in love and never out of love.
Since we know of a love that can fail how to we embrace a love that can and will last forever? Experience proves that love can and will die. But if it’s really love, can it really die? There is nothing good about death. Death doesn’t call for a party. Death doesn’t seek to make us feel good. Death isn’t something we look forward to. So if love can die, how can it be love? Love has a mandate to live; there is no other reason for love to be. If love was meant to die, how or why would it feel so good?
What is more important or necessary than love? The bible says that “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.…” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) What’s not to love about love?
I will never be perfect. God knows this now and God knew it then. God also knows that it will never happen. Because God has no expectation of perfection, the love of God cannot and will not cease to exist. God created humankind knowing that we would always fall short, but He created us to love us nonetheless. God knew before He created life that the only way to sustain life was to love life unconditionally. Unconditional love has no conditions or limitations. There is no three strikes law or separate but equal clause. There are no prerequisites or substitutions. God’s love is always good. God’s love is infinite and lives forever. A love that never dies is the only love that God gives because there will never be anything that will be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39). That’s love!
God will be our Father, and we will be God’s children. God will never take His love away from us…. (1 Chronicles 17:13)
Revolution to a Revelation
Drastic times call for drastic measures. History proves this statement true to us time and time again. There is always a sudden call to action that results from something drastic or severe in nature, normally resulting from a negative situation.
Martin Luther King Jr. would have never needed to plan a boycott if drastic times didn’t call for drastic measures. Nelson Mandela would not have needed to fight against apartheid if drastic times didn’t call for drastic measures President Barack Obama would never have been elected president if drastic times didn’t call for drastic measures. There is something great to be said about those who answer the call that is birthed on the inside to fight against the wars on the outside. I can imagine that anyone who has been called to lead in the shifting of a paradigm or pattern had to first feel certain emotions on the inside of them that would want them to fight a battle that most would certainly think would never be won.
There are many people and organizations that are helping lead people to a new way of thinking. Whether you are for it or against it, someone is pushing it. There is no discrimination in pushing a certain agenda; all it takes is for one person to feel deeply and passionate about something enough to want to make a change. Sure, there will be many people who disagree, but odds are there will also be plenty of people who jump on the bandwagon and who are willing to put themselves on the line in the name of their cause, even if it’s not popular.
Healthcare reform was not popular, but there were just as many people for it as there was against it (contrary to popular belief). Gay marriage, civil rights, women rights, equal rights were not popular agenda items, but there were enough people that came together to fight for what they believed in to demand change until they got it. Opposition didn’t deter the true fighters, it made them fight harder. They didn’t get discouraged when other groups started forming to lead others to fight against their fight; they just had to increase their army to fight back harder. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are proof that when the going gets tough, the tough get tougher. The military didn’t back down when the Taliban started fighting back, they increased their numbers which increased their strength and their power.
Sure, not everyone can continue fighting to the end. Some people will lose hope; others will just get tired of fighting. There will always be a few that will lose interest or who will find something else more important to fight for. Yet, there will always be those who will fight to the end, no matter what the outcome will be. Imagine if people just stopped fighting because it didn’t look good before getting to the finish line. Comebacks wouldn’t exist. There would be no game won by the team that was losing by 40 points at the half if they didn’t show up to finish the game. Even though it looks bad, unless we stay in the race we’ll never win and will always be defeated.
A revolution is a sudden, radical, or complete change (-Merriam-Webster dictionary). A revolution is needed when something has got to change. A revolution is needed when there is absolutely no doubt that if something doesn’t change, things are only going to get worse. A revolution is needed when we get sick and tired of being sick and tired. I’ve had several revolutions in my life and I am sure that I will have a lot more the longer I live. Sometimes, the only way to get the results desired is to suddenly change who we are, the way we think or how we act. We can’t think about it, we must act! We can’t worry about what other people may say or think, we must act! We can’t wait until we have enough support, we must act! We can’t wait until we have all of the necessary resources, we must act! We can’t wait to lose weight, we must act! We can’t wait until we finish school, we must act! We can’t wait another moment, we must act!
The initial call to change/act happens inside of us. There is something on the inside that stirs a yearning for change. Some may call it intuition or a sixth sense. Others may think of it as their conscious talking to them. I like to say that it is a revolution caused by revelation: God revealing something to me that causes me to want to change suddenly. When God first started showing me what He desired for my life, I dismissed it because I wasn’t ready nor did I think I ever would be. The funny thing about God is He didn’t take my “no” for my final answer, nor did God force me to accept the revelation. The more revelations, the more I desired a revolution. The more God revealed to me, the more I was willing to change to get what God had in store for me. God didn’t show me fancy cars, a big house on a hill, nor a million dollars in my bank account. God did show me peace, happiness, joy, and contentment. Even though I received the revelations, it wasn’t until my revolution that I was able to receive what God wanted me to have. I could no longer wait for a revelation for my revolution, I had to act! I did not have everything I thought I needed, nor did I think I was good enough, but I had to act! I could not continue to make excuses; I had to act! I couldn’t wait one more year or one more day, I had to act!
I urge you to no longer ignore the call inside of you to act. Do not let another moment pass without your revolution to revelation. Faith is operating outside of logic. Drastic times call for drastic measures. We must not wait any longer, for if we do, we may lose the battle simply because we never showed up to fight.
“The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” ~ William James
