Like well-lit cities

Chances are that you've flown over a major city in your life.  I caught the last flight out of Greensboro on Friday night for a fun weekend trip to Washington, D.C.  While flying, I noticed something new.  Flying at night gives you such a better perspective of what's below.  Cities and landscapes look so much cooler, so much more alive when they're lit up.  The only reason you can see them below is because they are well-lit.

That really inspired me to think about what it means to be well-lit.  I started thinking about all of the things in our lives that drive us.  For some of us, a belief that there is something more, some sort of divine intervention drives us.  For some of us, passion to be the very best we can be and the very happiest we can be drives us.  For some of us, the need to show others that we are 100% capable and worth it drives us.  What is it that drives you?

I am very motivated by pursuing my dreams.  The thing about dreams though is that they are ever-evolving.  For example, I, at one time, had a dream to be a teacher, and now that couldn't be further from the truth.  You aren't bound and locked down by your dreams.  You are freed up by your dreams.  If, over the course of time, a dream completely changes or takes on new direction, that is OK!  Dreams give you the freedom to pursue what is best for you, and what is best for you is something that only you can decide.  I am also very motivated by what those whom I respect think about my choices.  If you know me at all, you know I seek the advice and mentorship of other, more experienced, people often.  I believe that there is nothing that compares to hearing the advice of people who love you.  Another thing that really motivates me is being able to invest in people.  I enjoy what I like to call "deep water friendship."  If you can find a friend that will tread the deep water with you, that is a friend worth investing in.   

The truth that I learned from flying over a big, well-lit, city this weekend was that light only comes from within when whatever is being lit is in its proper place.  Think of it this way:  If you plug a lamp into a non-working socket, the lamp will not light up.  It is not in the proper place to function correctly.  The same is true for us.  We have to find what motivates us, what moves us to make a difference, and "plug ourselves in" to those things.  No matter the risk, no matter the challenge, no matter the process, being where you want to be and doing what makes you happy is always worth it. 

Just like well-lit cities from an airplane, we look so much more alive when we are lit up from that which drives our passion.  Go after it today, friends!

For fun, here are some pictures from my weekend (but it was way better than could ever be summed up in pictures).  In case you were wondering, this was my first time ever visiting DC and I am now a raving fan.

Thankful for this sweet friend who constantly supports, advises and encourages my life and dreams.  What a gem.

Who doesn't love Abe Lincoln?!

Even in scaffolding, the monument/reflecting pool is awesome. 

A shot while leaving the city from the metro ride to the airport.

Stop trying so hard!

I had a great weekend...some time away for a wedding of a beautiful friend, inside and out.  This weekend also involved a lot of downtime waiting for wedding festivities to begin and I had a lot of productive time and time to think.  Then, today, I woke up energized and refreshed and ready to hit the ground running on this Monday.  My new resolution in life:  Stop trying so hard!

This new life mantra is specifically in regard to who I am created to be and where I am going.  I was thinking this weekend about how far the Lord had brought me in even just a year's time.  To think that I would be back in Greensboro with the unique opportunity to pursue an dream uninhibited was a foreign concept to me a little over a year ago, but every day since I've been here, I have been able to live that dream out and see Jesus unfold greatness right in front of me. 

The major challenge in moving to a new place for me has been moving away from a lot of friends and community that I had already established.  It has stretched me in many capacities.  It has shown me that some relationships were seasonal and it has shown me that I have to stop trying so hard to go back and dwell over my last season.  See, here's a reality about me you may not know:  I am a control-freak.  In every sense of the word.  I try to keep my controlling nature at bay outwardly (because I constantly want everyone else to be happy) but in regard to the season I left behind, I have found myself trying to control the outcomes of relationships that are behind me.  While I still care deeply about the community I left behind and it is in no way my intention to stop caring about it, I have to keep moving forward.  I have to stop worrying (obsessing) over what I could have done better or how things could have been different.  I have to stop trying so hard so that I can focus on what's ahead.

You see, control can be like quicksand.  It is a never ending cycle that pulls us deeper and deeper and farther away from where we are headed.  First, we want to control small things and, eventually, it will take over every activity of our lives.  I am learning that being a control-freak doesn't benefit me and it certainly doesn't show the grace of Jesus to others.  I need to be willing to follow Jesus one step at a time and to trust that He did not bring me here to drop me off and let me figure out the rest on my own.  He is a faithful God, but he is a God that will not be mocked or controlled.  I am moving forward and refusing to let my humanly need to control things impede his continued direction over my journey.  I am committed to listening more than I ever have been.   And, this is a PROCESS.  I can't get better at it over a 24 hour period.   It takes time and diligence and effort and discomfort, but I am committed.

I wouldn't be blogging about this if i didn't think it had the potential to significantly encourage you readers.  I think you can take a lot away from this lesson I'm learning as well.  I know of a few things to be 100% true in life; Jesus, the value of human relationship, and that there is joy available in living life to its fullest.  If we want opportunities to impact this world for the Kingdom, we have to stop trying so hard to control our circumstances.  Opportunities will come without our constant supervision.  Right next to you today, maybe in the next office, maybe in the restaurant where you will eat lunch, maybe right within your family are people who need to know how much Jesus loves them.  And not in an elementary sunday-school way.  They need to know the profound, life-altering love of Jesus.  Tell them about it.

Let's take on this challenge together:  Stop trying so hard to control our circumstances, stop trying to constantly play it cool, stop trying to impress people because we want their approval, stop only following our dreams if we have every "next step" lined up.  Instead, let's look forward instead of back and run hard after what we are created to be.  I promise, there are awesome things waiting ahead of you...you just have to be willing to keep on walking forward.

Happy Monday, readers.  Have a great day!