The Process of Wisdom

“God, whose law it is that he who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despite, against our own will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God.” – Aeschylus

The beauty of this quote is not a result of word pairing, but instead, of the earth shattering truth it speaks.  So much of who we are, who we have become, is because of the situations that we have endured, the people we have encountered, the genes we have inherited.  Suffering and pain bring about the appreciation of peace and mercy.  There has been this shift within our culture to shy away from things that do not feel comforting, that bring about displeasure.  I say, no, don’t do that.  Lean into the misery, lean into the grit, feel the dirt in your soul and learn from the season of suffering so that when your flowers of glory and victory blooms you can appreciate all of its beauty.  It feels burdensome and terrifying to endure such calamity, but a life lived only half experienced is even more tragic. It is in your heart break that you feel everything so deeply and it is in the recovery where you witness the shadows of your strength manifest into will and power.  The meaning of life can be debated upon, as it has been since the inception of humanity perhaps.  Nonetheless, it does not negate the fact that in life we learn or we do not learn enough, and even within those two choices emerges experiences. Within the gracious moments of experience comes as Aeschylus disdainfully explains a process of procuring wisdom.  It is this wisdom that is worth the restless nights, the awful flashbacks of what we did, the moments of recognizing the emptiness within ourselves where we wish more compassion lied or where we wished away caring too much. There is so much complexity to the spectrum of humanity that it would be disappointing to not wallow in all that it has to offer.  Crawl into your darkness and find the light that is hidden in the deepest corner of you. Against our own will comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God but a much needed experience for us to truly live alive.  We cannot have love without disdain, we cannot have peace without warring, and we cannot have light without darkness.  How would we be able to distinguish what we want without experiencing or witnessing what we do not?  There is growth to be had in all that we live through, all of it. 

-Trinity

Decisions Decisions ... Let's shoot for the galaxies, you and I

Confession: I began my walk with Christ without knowing I was walking with him. I was praying and praying to him to heal my family when I was 12 years old, and He used the people in my past memories to structure my new ones. It’s funny how he allows us to be used in certain ways. I’m thankful that my 2nd grade teacher had invited us to her church when I was 6, because when I asked my father to take me to church, we took her invitation; even if it was 6 grades later.

The decisions we make in life are so important because they shape our future. We get lucky that our mistakes don’t always corrupt our existence, but that can only happen if we learn from them. Every single aspect of our life is a teachable moment, a learning moment, an experiencing moment. When I was in the 8th grade, I began watching Joyce Meyers every morning while getting ready for school. Her choice to speak the word of God and encouragement found my ears, all because of the decisions we make in our life. What if she had chosen a different path in life at a different time, allowing her past demons, transgressions, or pain to re-infect her continuously? And perhaps, I had decided to listen to MTV or VH1 while getting dressed instead of her ministry, where would I be? Maybe my walk would not be so defined with God, maybe I would still be a newborn in Christ, and maybe my outlook on spirituality and designing the perfect destiny for me would not be so clear. The decisions we make even while we are younger shape, form, and rejuvenate parts of our lives, knowingly and unknowingly. It may seem unfair because of our innocence, our pureness, and the fact that our steps are currently placed in the hands of adults that haven’t quite figured out their own walk.

I want to encourage you to pay attention in life. Each step you make differs from the last and will differ from the next one you make. Although, it may seem as you are walking around in circles, making the same decisions, it’s not true. We hold our destinies in our hands, and this world is more profound then we give it credit. There is so much more to our lives then we ever experience, and that is because we allow the creation and manifestations of others, become our own. My life is mine and mine alone, it belongs to no one else but me. How often do we stop and think that this is my life, mine! How incredible is that? How has the pessimistic nature seeped into our minds that at times, we wish for it to be over, have something new, or despise it? We have a responsibility to ourselves and whatever responsibility you feel that you have, it’s yours to figure out; but that’s just it, figure it out.

Ask yourself what is my purpose, and don’t be afraid of the answer. Remember, I am huge on not interrupting yourself, but instead giving you time to speak inwardly. It may cause for you to step out of an indolent lifestyle, it may make you challenge your weakness which initiates fears that we may not want to face, but know that you are stronger than you probably give yourself credit for. Know that those moments of doubt, frustration, and aggravation can be controlled by controlling your mind, your thoughts, and your actions. When you control your mind, you are in control of your destiny, because your thoughts become different, which allow for your actions to become different; your entire outlook on life becomes something of anew. Live above the definition you have defined for yourself, because you will be surprised when you finally figure out that the sky limit really isn’t that far. Let’s shoot for the galaxies, you and I.