Encouragement
Well, Easter will soon be with us once again, and for many this is the most important event in the Christian calendar, celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ. But as well as the religious celebrations it is a time of rebirth, where nature, following the harsh and unforgiving rigours of winter, bursts forth into life again. The flowers are warily poking their heads out of the cold soil, and rooks are chattering noisily in the treetops, standing guard over their nests. Indeed, the whole countryside seems to be intent solely upon re-establishing itself again after the lean winter months.
So what better time can there be than now for our own personal rebirth, or as one of the latest buzzwords would call it - reinvention. This is just modern jargon for sorting yourself out, of tidying up your life, and in general planning for a better future. It is true that many of us human beings have a tendency to avoid change in our well-ordered lives, or to look the other way when challenges appear on the horizon. In other words, when given the choice we will usually take the easy way out. Yet if we think about it carefully we will see that it is often the road that is littered with obstacles and challenges which in the end is the most rewarding and fulfilling.
What we sometimes lack is the motivation to make that initial move, the courage to take that leap of faith. We are not talking about the sort of decisions where our very lives depend upon the outcome, although we have seen many examples of that in the past. Think of the martyrs who have willingly forfeited their lives rather than renounce their faith, or in order to save others. Knowingly going to your own execution, when you know that uttering a few words of renunciation would save you, is surely the supreme act of sacrifice, and it takes someone of immense courage to do that.
Thankfully most of us will go through our lives without being faced with a choice of those proportions, for usually all that we have to do is decide upon the outcome of some trifling matter. These days where we are surrounded by all the familiar and treasured comforts of home, there are so many temptations for us to go for the soft option, and avoid at all costs any situation where we may be confronted by change.
We will often pretend the problem doesn't exist, and flop out on the settee with a cup of tea to watch the fictitious characters in the soaps resolving their problems, while at the same time refusing to come to grips with our own. Every one of us has at some time held back, reluctant or afraid to make some move, which we know in the end, could benefit us. In most instances it is not laziness or the cost involved that holds us back, it is the fear of the unknown.
In her book A Return to Love, published in 1992, Marianne Williamson writes; "You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us. It is in everyone and, as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
We do have the power within us to withstand all the demands that will be put upon us, and the American preacher and author, Norman Vincent Peale, put it this way: "When Almighty God made you He built into you all the potential that you would ever need from the day you were born until the day you died, and even beyond. He knew what you would have to face, the difficulties you would encounter, the challenges that would come to you, the crises that you would meet, and He arranged it so that you have it within yourself, right there to be used, all the power that you need."
One final thought; in your journey of rebirth, should you find that you are on the wrong road, do not despair. Stand still for a moment and look around you, for you will probably come upon places of interest and great beauty that you otherwise would have missed. Have a safe and wonderful journey.
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