You're Next in Line

You’re next in line for a miracle.
-Shirley Caesar


Greetings folks! For the regular readers of my blog you know that I have been struggling as of late with the mess that is my current job. Not that I don’t love what I do, it’s just that I’m surrounded by incompetence and others who don’t love what they do, which hampers my ability to make progress. I wrote a post (Just One of Those Days 10/12/11) and read a comment from one of the readers who really encouraged me. What I took from the comment was that it’s easy to only see darkness in the tunnel when your head is down, but in order to see the light we have to pick our heads up and look towards the end.

I’m constantly encouraging and urging others to be positive, to be upbeat, and to be the change they want to see in the world. However, as of late it’s been difficult to live by the “words of wisdom” I’ve been sharing. But the more the system beats down on me and the closer I get to breaking, the more God picks my head up and tries to show me the light. It’s tough trying to focus on the future when the present sucks. It’s hard to think about driving a Benz when you’re walking everywhere you go. Yet and still, we need something that continues to spur our evolution into the greater and better versions of ourselves that await in the future. We need encouragement and inspiration to fuel our aspirations of a better tomorrow and it starts with faith.

The late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated “Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” It’s a tough concept to grasp but a pivotal lesson to learn. Faith is what Cubs fans have exhibited every year for the last century. Faith is what Dolphins fans have shown every year since Marino retired. Faith is what little kids display every time they mail a Christmas letter to Santa Claus or put a tooth underneath their pillow. Whether you believe in God or not, every day that you’re alive you exhibit some type of faith. It may be belief that your car will start, that there won’t be an earthquake today, that you won’t get hit by a car, or that you’ll be alive tomorrow. Without it, we would be a cynical dystopia, and life really wouldn’t be worth living.

Belief that things will get better is the steam that is powering my dreams right now. I believe that if I do what I’m told, what I’m asked to do, what I’m required to do and do it to the best of my ability that I will be rewarded. As such, I believe that “this too shall pass.” This too will come and go and will transform from being a hindrance to a building block and from a hurdle to a stepping stone.

I can’t walk around thinking that it will be like this forever. I can’t. I have to believe that I’m next in line for a miracle, because anything short of a miracle won’t do. I have to have faith that trouble won’t last always and just as the sun rises every morning to erase the dark cast by its absence, that eventually the sun will rise on a brand new day for my life.

We all experience trials and tribulations and just as sure as the sun rises and sets in our lives so will darkness come and go. It is inevitable. We can’t stop it. The only thing we can do is prepare, adapt and learn from these moments in time so that may be helpful to us and those we encounter. Take your dark times in stride and carry a flashlight until the lights come back on or the sun rises. Stay Up and Be Blessed!