A Note of Gratitude

A Note of Gratitude
I had the pleasure this weekend of helping to conduct a seminar
in North Carolina. It was a wonderful experience where I was able to work with a good friend of mine and also make a lot of new friends. For me, one of the best byproducts of doing one of these seminars is that it forces me to re-evaluate myself and my own conduct in relation to what I know to be true. Preparing to  speak on the subject of joy, hope, faith and love required me over the last few weeks to spend time both analyzing how I experience those states of being in my
own life, and also finding a way to articulate how I reconnect to and engage them when they are buried under the business of my daily activities. It is no small thing that this room full of new friends afforded me the opportunity for this self-examination by inviting me to speak, and I am overcome with gratitude.

Here are three ultimate truths that have been put back into my conscious mind, since I started preparing a few weeks ago:

1. People and things can delight me and help me to feel happy, but true joy comes from faith that, ultimately, all is well with my soul, regardless of what challenges I am facing. 
2. Some of the best, most inspired times of my life have followed some of the most difficult challenges I have faced. If it’s difficult, it’s probably the thing most worth doing. 
3. God is incessantly working behind the scenes, conspiring on my behalf. Therefore, I may see challenges for what they are: a rearranging of my circumstances to make room for everything I am made to experience and enjoy in this life.  

I think these things are difficult to remember when life feels as disheveled and scattered as an overturned applecart, but I think they are equally hard to remember when life is just plain busy. Thank you, my new friends, for reminding me that all is well, that whatever busy-ness and stress occurred from  preparing over the last several weeks was worth every minute, and for being that ‘behind the scenes’ blessing God had in store for me, all along! And thank you, too, to my veteran friends who have worked with me and helped me discover these truths, not just these last couple of weeks, but over a lifetime. 
 
I hope that, whatever challenges you face this week, you are able to bring these truths to your own consciousness, find evidence that they are true in your own life, and use them to reconnect you to your joy. Have a beautiful June!

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