Not Your Responsibility

There’s a common misconception, especially amongst Christians, that it is our responsibility to make sure our family and loved ones change for the better. That is not your responsibility; the two most important things for us to do as humans is to love God and love people. Obviously, if you’re not a Christian you will automatically think that this doesn’t apply to you, but bear with me.

Unless you are living under a rock we are all aware of what’s going on both in our country and around the world. We might not know all the details of every situation happening, but we can see chaos left and right. Have you noticed what’s missing? Love.

The love for people has gone down the trash and some might say, “well I can’t love this person or that person because they are horrible individuals,” and I agree that some people lack respect, lack love, and don’t seem worthy of our genuine friendship, but have you ever seen someone’s character change and realize that they truly are someone worth befriending?

We all want to see change, we all want to see things get better, but in order for that to happen is for us to stop trying to take responsibility in making other people change and start to change things internally. Let’s work on our character, let’s work on our respect, let’s work on our love and just watch how the people around you begin to react. It’s easier said than done, yes, I understand that, but if we want to leave a legacy for our children and our younger family members to live in a more caring and loving society, we have to fix ourselves first.

It is not your responsibility to change your neighbor, it is not your responsibility to change your family, but it is your responsibility to seek God and love people. Let’s have a conversation, even if you disagree with me or others, let’s work on understanding why instead of simply giving the cold shoulder.

Community: A Necessity

As an introvert, I really enjoy my time alone and doing things by myself. At one point before God came into my life and shook it up, I had the mentality of: “I don’t need anyone, I got this on my own,” and while that mentality still crosses my mind from time to time, I’ve learned that it has a lot to do with the pride within me.

I have a difficult time asking for help even when people are offering it but as I get older I understand the need for community and that need to surround yourself with others. Aside from feeling like you belong somewhere when you have a community of people around you, that community begins to be a reason of why you push yourself to be a better version of you. The community you surround yourself with also brings perspective to your life; the type of perspective you were probably oblivious to because you only have your own way of looking at life.

Overall, surrounding yourself with a community will help in your growth process because you’ll see the areas you need work on as well as the type of people you need in your life. And don’t be afraid when your community changes! Some people who’ve been in your community for more than 10 years can unfortunately leave or fade away, so don’t feel threatened when other people start jumping in to your community.

Community is a necessity, it may not have to be large but we still need to surround ourselves with at least a handful of people we can do life with.

“You’re Crazy!”

I hear this phrase all too often when people find out my daily schedule and I don’t find it offensive in any way, shape or form. It actually keeps me motivated with the goals I have set for myself. Some of those goals I will never share with anyone while other goals are well known by anyone who would allow me to share my goals.

You see, I currently work two jobs and I’m extremely active at my church. My sleep consists of naps for the most part and in an average day when I work both jobs I get around 4-5 hours of sleep (not all at once, it’s usually spread throughout the day). I will admit that the first two weeks of when I got my second job it was extremely difficult to adjust to but now it’s become a routine. I don’t need people and don’t want people to feel bad for me. I have met far more “crazier” people who are doing the same and have their own kids to raise as well.

I have made a lot of dumb decisions in the past when it comes to finances and I’m seeing the result of it now. By the grace and strength of God, I have managed to pay over 10K in debt in one year alone. The reason I share this post is because I want people to know that one of my biggest goals is to be debt free. I don’t have two jobs because I’m money hungry, I have two jobs because in the near future I want to be content and comfortable with only my main job and not have to worry about making ends meet.

I’m doing this for my family and for myself but I also want to encourage those around me to do the same. Whether it be financially or any other goals they have in mind, it’s going to take time. Keep working and keep doing what you need to do to achieve your goals. Even on the days you have absolutely no motivation, go to the gym, go for that walk, talk to that person, show up for work, turn in that assignment, sign up for that class, do what you have to do to get to where you want to be. I will celebrate your win. You got this.

Meaningful Life

I pray for a full life, not for a long life. A life where I’m not afraid to die.

A life where I can honor God for what he’s done, a life to be used to bless someone.

This meaningful life surrounded by those I love, a life where I can fix bridges that were broken once.

A living example of forgiveness, ‘cause none of us can say we’re sinless.

I pray for a meaningful life in me, knowing I’m completely free.

Trusting that God has His best for me, a life looking to eternity.

Relationships

As I get older I realize the importance of the relationships we build in life. Not necessarily about the relationship you have with your future spouse, but relationships with friends, even family.We were created to live in community and every person we meet plays a crucial role in our life. Unfortunately, some of those relationships end up breaking us in some sort of way but we grow from it. While the majority of the relationships we keep are the ones that contribute to the person we continue to grow into.

There will be people we meet who are meant to walk with us in life for only short periods of time and there are others who need to be part of our life until this life is over. Regardless of what category a person falls in, we need to cherish and appreciate the opportunity God has given us to encounter this person. We can easily be here today and minutes later we can be taking our last breath on this earth.

Think about your relationships and ask yourself, “why am I in this persons life? Why is this person in my life?” It’s time for us to appreciate one another, to build each other up and encourage one another. The better the relationships we build, the better this world becomes. Without relationships and without that care for one another, everything in the world turns to chaos.

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