Speeches made by guest speakers at high school graduations tend to be nostalgic, fluffy, and loaded with "wise" words of inspiration. In other words, most everyone nods at the speaker enough to stay awake, and wonders how long it will be before their child crosses the stage to receive a diploma and a congratulatory handshake.
But, a speaker at Jordan's graduation yesterday got my attention.
She was introduced as someone who spent years laboring at a full-time job while she attended school just about every night of the week. She worked incredibly hard, endured and overcame tough obstacles to attain her dream of becoming a teacher. The intro was enough to make me stop checking my watch and pay attention.
My ears perked up when she said, "Our history does not have to be our destiny." She went on to explain that where we come from and where we've been do not have to define our future - and that our destiny does not have to look like our past.
I pondered her words.
Dallas Willard once explained that the purpose of spiritual disciplines is to help us do the things we can to change the things we can't. In other words, there are many things in my life that I can't change right now - no matter how hard I try. Followers of Jesus are better off spending their time, effort and energy to create room to connect with Someone Who Loves Them today - than trying to move mountains that refuse to budge right now. When I find Belonging today, I become more fully alive and am pointed towards my destiny.
Many of us want change. We want our lives to be different. We want our future to be better than our past. I wonder how many of us miss our destiny because we focus on the "big picture" of how we want our lives to turn out - rather than on the small, seemingly insignificant - and less exciting steps we can take today.
Changing the dynamics of the ripples we make in a big pond can be a joyful journey when taken with friends. Brothers, sisters and One who is closer than a brother make excellent companions.
What kind of ripples are we making today?
But, a speaker at Jordan's graduation yesterday got my attention.
She was introduced as someone who spent years laboring at a full-time job while she attended school just about every night of the week. She worked incredibly hard, endured and overcame tough obstacles to attain her dream of becoming a teacher. The intro was enough to make me stop checking my watch and pay attention.
My ears perked up when she said, "Our history does not have to be our destiny." She went on to explain that where we come from and where we've been do not have to define our future - and that our destiny does not have to look like our past.
I pondered her words.
Dallas Willard once explained that the purpose of spiritual disciplines is to help us do the things we can to change the things we can't. In other words, there are many things in my life that I can't change right now - no matter how hard I try. Followers of Jesus are better off spending their time, effort and energy to create room to connect with Someone Who Loves Them today - than trying to move mountains that refuse to budge right now. When I find Belonging today, I become more fully alive and am pointed towards my destiny.
Many of us want change. We want our lives to be different. We want our future to be better than our past. I wonder how many of us miss our destiny because we focus on the "big picture" of how we want our lives to turn out - rather than on the small, seemingly insignificant - and less exciting steps we can take today.
Changing the dynamics of the ripples we make in a big pond can be a joyful journey when taken with friends. Brothers, sisters and One who is closer than a brother make excellent companions.
What kind of ripples are we making today?
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