Have you ever had the privilege of watching young birds learn how to fly? How awkward they are! How clumsily they fly and tumble, fly and tumble! They are never more than a few inches off the ground. At first our hearts are filled with pity, for they look as if they will never join the mother bird in flight. But then we check our thinking, for we know better. God has put into their nature the urge to fly—and they will fly!
In our daily living, aren’t we also flying and tumbling, flying and tumbling? We too are learning to express our true nature. One day in the not-too-distant future, we shall fly high above the lowly concerns of today. We will look down at the worries that cluttered our lives and think how small they were!
The important thing for us to remember is that we are spiritual beings. We have the urge within us to grow and unfold. As we continue in prayer, we are patient with ourselves and others—knowing that one day we will take off, fully expressing the glory of Christ.
Do you want to experience a happy, rewarding, and productive week? To do so requires energy. Many people suffer from fatigue, which results in unhappiness and failure in all areas of life, but it can be overcome easily and effectively.
Try one or more of the following to help you have an energy-filled week:
1. Make it a habit to look for the good in all people and things.
2. Refuse to grumble and complain, even about the weather. It does no good but does add to your sense of tiredness.
3. Empty your mind of regrets, fears, worries, and guilt. Such negative emotions can overwhelm you, leaving you quite depleted.
4. Organize your work. Doing either too much or too little isn’t necessary.
5. Take brief rest periods in your work. Relax both mentally and physically during these few moments.
6. Have fresh air where you work. Plenty of oxygen is necessary to perform well without becoming fatigued.
Overcome fatigue and you will more effectively express your real potential.
Learn how to give generously, freely, easily, and joyously if you want to receive God’s gifts of love and life.
How often do we try to take without giving, to get something for nothing? It doesn’t really work. By giving to God of your talent, your abilities, your time, your energies, and your money, you become strong, healthy, radiant, prosperous, and happy. Giving is the key to rich, worthwhile living. Without it we are self-absorbed and self-centered. When we take people and things for granted, we become small and limited.
Ask Christ in you to educate you regarding wise giving. Give, because giving brings God’s love and good into the lives of individuals. Be a channel through which the riches of God can flow into the world.
How well do you accept suggestions? If someone comments on your home, your habits, or the way you dress—do you give the suggestion proper thought and consider its possibilities? Do you feel grateful for another’s interest or do you fight back? If someone comments on your work, suggesting that there is a better way, do you resist?
Many people go on doing things the same way year after year. Their habits adhere to the same pattern, never changing or improving.
Instead of resisting a suggestion—regardless of whether the person meant well or not—listen. Think about it. Perhaps there is a better way to do our work. Maybe there are other styles of dress that would be more becoming. Changes in our home may be beneficial to all concerned.
Keep your mind and heart open to suggestions. Honestly and objectively evaluate them. Pray about them. You may find some suggestions a blessing that open the way to greater good for you.
Wherever you live, or whatever may be your environment, remind yourself that you are always at home with God. Abide in God and God abides in you.
Free your mind from anxiety. Allow no thought of lack a place in your mind. Just as loving parents provide for their children, so does God make ample provision for you. You have enough to share and to spare.
Free your mind and emotions from fear. God’s presence dispels all shadows so that you can abide in the light. External pressures dissolve quietly when you know that you are at home with God.
Enter into a new consciousness of God’s presence. You are at home with God. Your life will be enlarged and enriched. Peace will fill your heart. You will be secure, serene, and enfolded in God’s love, for God is with you.