I was going to share a post with you today about what I ate on Monday. I spent time taking pictures of my food, documenting my short recipes, etc., but woke up today with a different subject on my heart. Recipes are good and all, but life is about so much more than what you eat; it is about your heart, soul, and message to the world. I figure that there will always be time to share food pictures and recipes, and hoped that you would enjoy getting to know my soul today, rather than looking at what I ate on Monday.
The question that was on my heart when I woke up was “Are you really open to living the life that God has laid out for you?”.
I actually ask myself this question a lot. My short and long answer is yes, with a paused no in the middle. I want to be, I strive to be, I believe that there is a plan for me greater than I could ever outline for myself. I know this, I feel it in my core. I preach it to you, I preach it to myself.
The truth is, living with an open heart and mind isn’t always easy. Growing up, you create certain ideas and expectations about what your life should look like. These ideals can be influenced by your social circles, family, teachers, television, magazines, and your own thoughts. At some point, when you realize that your life doesn’t look exactly like how you pre-planned it in your mind, you start to begin to think something is wrong with you, your life isn’t good enough, or there is something missing. You suddenly forget about every single joy in your life, which when looking at the big picture, probably trumps all of the bad things by a mile.
See, it is so easy to believe in the master plan when things go as you envisioned them, but it gets downright hard when the cards don’t unfold like you thought they would. These are the times when you may begin to question the master plan, feel like you are the problem, or question God’s intent. Why me? Why not me? What did I do to deserve this? Why is life so unfair? Any of those questions sound familiar? I know I have asked them at points in my own life.
If you believe in the master plan, you need to pick yourself up off of the floor and live your life with intention. You have to choose to believe that this is a chapter, not your story. You have to know that your biggest struggles will one day be your biggest accomplishments. Keep an open mind to that fact that your master plan accomplishments may not be your envisioned ones, and embrace that.
An interesting thing in life is that it must be lived moving forward, but is generally understood looking backwards. There is a fine line between both of these things, because life can only be enjoyed by living in the present moment. When you worry about the future and regret the past, you rob yourself of the joy of the present moment. When you do not fully live in the moment, you are unable to utilize your God-given talents that you have been designed to bless the world with.
Look at your life with a worldly view. No, not everything is fair, nor do I think that everything happens for a reason. But I do believe that you can learn something from every situation you are presented with in life. What you do with what you learn can make the difference between living life and loving life. When you view your current struggle as a step to your greatest accomplishment, your mindset around that struggle becomes much different.
Live your life in gratitude. Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen. Be thankful everyday that you can step out of bed in the morning. Do everything you want to do in your life, because your time is limited. Ask yourself what is important to you? Spend your energy fostering those things. Allow negativity to pass through your mind. Your thoughts determine your life, so choose them wisely.
Thanks for listening today. I hope this message encourages you to live an inspired life. Xo.
