Christopher Columbus

Greetings,

I find myself having to make certain decisions in my life that are harder and harder.  No longer do my powers of deliberation rest upon paper or plastic, caf or decaf (like that's a real choice), or1-ply or 2ply!  Life brings about real decisions that affect our lives in meaningful ways.

The last time I blogged I shared with you my decided heart to work towards the publishing of my book idea.  I have been doing that these past few days and that is why I have not written on this blog.  Now, sitting in front of my computer, I am experiencing this overwhelming sense of guilt.  I feel as if I have let down the nine people who read this blog.  If that is the case I apologize. 

So, to make this a more organized endeavor and to try and serve two masters I propose this schedule.  I will be posting to my blog on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I pray that my calendar will allow me to follow this schedule.  Anyway, look for new posts on these days.  Now, let's get back to David Ponder!

As I said in my last post David Ponder comes in contact with Christopher Columbus.  During this encounter Columbus challenges David with this statement for success... I have a decided heart!  I want to share with you the author's, Andy Andrews, words at the end of the chapter.  They are powerful and I think they will give you an idea of the point that he is trying to get across.

""I have a decided heart.  I am passionate about my vision for the future.  I will awaken evry morning with an excitement about the new day and its opportunity for growth and change.  I will lay my head on my pillow at night happily exhausted, knowing that I have done everything within in my power to move the mountains in my path.  As I sleep, the same dream that dominates my waking hours will be with me in the dark.  A person without a dream never had a dream come true.  I have a decided heart.  I will not wait." (The Traveler's Gift, p. 88).

What words!  On my journey home I can remember times after surgeries when I had no dream at all.  My goal in life was to get from the bathroom to the bedroom.  I concentrated on one minute at a time.  I was not interested in moving mountains.  I was only interested in trying to keep my head out of the toilet while I puked my guts out!  That sounds reaaly distasteful and gross and it was.  I share that with you only to let you know that there are times in each one of our lives when dremas and goals present themselves as mountains and obstacles.  It is during these times that we are called to greater heights in our thought process.  God has promised His presence with us through His spirit and it is with His presence that we find the courage to travel on.

How about you?  When you go to sleep at night do you "lay your head on my pillow at night happily exhausted, knowing that you have done everything within your  power to move the mountains in your path."?
I understand, believe me I understand, that sometimes the mountains are so big and the energy in which we have to move them seems so insignificant.  I know that the trials and tribulations in life seems so heavy at times that we are convinced that there is no possible way that a single pebble could be moved not to mention a mountain.  I know, I have been there.  There are times when I am still there.  Yet, even in my darkest days I can remember days before when I was sure that I would never be doing the tings that I am doing tooday.  There were times when I would curl up in bed and shed tears of disappointment in knowing that my life was never going to be the same.  And I was right!  It isn't the same!  Yes, there is constant pain, yes,  there are medical bills, yes,  there are mounatins that seems so high and so big that even thinking about tackling them seems a fool's errand!  But within all of that I have one thing that I did not have before...a decided heart.  I have told myself that God has given me more time on this earth and I am going to do more with it.  God never promised me a life with no mountains only that, through Him, I could overcome them.  He never promised me a life with no pain only that, through Him, I could bear it.  God has only promised me His strength and His presence to deal with that which stands between me and His will for me, and I am going to take it!
Whatever you may feel about Christopher Columbus really doesn't have anything to do with David Ponder's experience or yours.  What we take from this statement is that people of ordinary status become remembered because of their undying attitude that decided hearts accomplish great things!  For me, getting up in the morning, placing my feet on the floor, and rising to face another day is great!  Shouldn't I give all that I can to move the mountains of disappointment, to cross the valleys of despair, and to come out on the other side a person with a decided heart.  Shouldn't you as well?

Having a decided heart doesn't mean that you are going to get everything in life that you want.  None of us ever do.  It does mean that each of us spend our lives striving for the goals that we have set four ourselves, seeking to overcome the obstacles that are placed our path, and making our wildest dream come true. 

So go and dream!  No matter what you are facing today dream a dream for your life.  Seek what is good and right, ask God for His will for you and then make every effort to make that will come true.  It is part of life to struggle.  I have and so have you.  It is in the struggling that we become stronger.  So go after today...Carpe Diem, seize the day.  Find that mountain and attack it with a decided heart!

Blessings,

Derek