At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. – Matthew 18:1-5
Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them. – Mark 10:13-16
Opportunities come in strange packages sometimes. You know, you are expecting a pretty package, wrapped perfectly, with that pretty bow on top. And you receive a box, wrapped in an old brown grocery bag, beat up on the corners, that shakes when you rattle it. Yep. Not what we expect at all right?
Yet with every obstacle comes an opportunity to grow, an opportunity to change. And perhaps things will be better. No one likes a stagnant pool of water right? It’s all green and stinky. The water has to MOVE to be fresh. And so do we.
What would you do if things did NOT stay the same?
How do you respond to change?
Do you welcome it or run from it?
12 QUOTES ON OPPORTUNITIES
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”― Winston S. Churchill
“With each opportunity before me, God presented me with a choice. I could accept His offerings, His wisdom, His grace. Or I could choose to hold onto the pain, the anger and the resentment a little longer.” ― Sharon E. Rainey, Making a Pearl from the Grit of Life
” Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” ―Galatians 6:10 NIV
“The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word ‘crisis.’ One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger–but recognize the opportunity.” ― John F. Kennedy
“Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.”― Colossians 4:5 NIV
“Strength comes from struggle. When you learn to see your struggles as opportunities to become stronger, better, wiser, then your thinking shifts from “I can’t do this” to “I must do this.” ― Toni Sorenson
“Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty.”― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson
“For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.”―1 Corinthains 18:9 AMP
“How would your life be different if…You didn’t allow yourself to be defined by your past? Let today be the day…You stop letting your history interfere with your destiny and awaken to the opportunity to release your greatest self.” ― Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free
“I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” ― Abraham Lincoln
“We often miss opportunity because it’s dressed in overalls and looks like work”― Thomas A. Edison
“It still holds true that man is most uniquely human when he turns obstacles into opportunities.” ― Eric Hoffer
You can’t drown a rubber duck. Really. This post may be a bit out of the ‘norm’ for me. But it’s true. Today is D-Day. Foreclosure day. We have to go to court and sign the papers as the bank is taking back the house we thought was ours. Life happens. Yep. Not what we had planned – but we will walk through it together.
I lost my job after a leg injury. Went back to PT twice this past year. And the ex stopped paying his Child Support the same week we signed papers for the house. Guess he got jealous. Oh well. And the other ex put a lien on the property with the back child support due. Guess you can pay for 7 years and still have a debt that doesn’t go away overnight. Big surprise.
We have been paying our debts – yet here we sit. We have been following God and seeking His face – yet here we sit. We are believing God for good things – yet here we sit. Can I tell you life is not always rosy when you are a believer? Things still happen – planned and unplanned. Yet, God is still good and I know He will make something good come out of this.
It’s funny how people respond when you are going through a trial to test your faith. You either get the “Ohhhh – no wonder you are so stressed.” or the “You need to get right with God.” as they point their fingers and raise their eyebrows. Funny how some people like to kick you when you are down. And funny how some people judge your walk by how much money you make or how much you tithe.
But then there was one. One man who told the truth and came into our trial. “I went through a foreclosure too.” He said. “And I made it. My kids made it. And things are better today. God is with you and you will make it.” I can’t say who, but thank you my brother – for sharing your journey with us. It means more than you will ever know. You give me HOPE. You build my faith when you share how God has restored you and your family.
Today I choose to believe in faith – despite what I see, despite what I hear today. It WILL work out for our good – God promised.
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. (Romans 8:26-28 MSG)
So, what’s the duck you ask? Well at Quaker State & Lube they have this drink I got one time that is called DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE. It is a blue vodka thing that comes with one of those rubber ducks in it. And the duck floats on top of the drink.
It reminds me of that carnival game we all played at the fair with all the ducks floating in a row. You can dunk them, push them down, but YOU CAN’T DROWN THAT RUBBER DUCK! It always pops right back up! We will get up – you can’t drown this hope – we will pop right back up!
And then I ran across this story that made me smile.
“In 1992 a shipping container filled with rubber ducks was lost at sea. Over 28,000 rubber duckies fell overboard on their way from Japan to the United States. Imagine thousands of rubber ducks floating on the ocean. Many of them have since washed up on the shores of Hawaii, Alaska, South America, Australia and the Pacific Northwest. Others have been found frozen in Arctic ice and made their way to Newfoundland and Scotland. How wonderful to find a rubber duck on shore one day!”
I pray that you and I float just like theses rubber ducks today – and find new and exciting places to go because YOU CAN’T DROWN A RUBBER DUCK!
RELATED POSTS
I looked up some other Christians who have gone through Foreclosure. Thank you Lord, for witnesses who are not afraid to share their struggles. God bless each of them abundantly!
Spent today in a conversation
In the mirror face to face with
somebody less than perfect
I wouldn’t choose me first if
I was looking for a champion
In fact I’d understand if
You picked everyone before me
But that’s just not my story
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing
[Chorus:]
I don’t need my name in lights
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I’m not living for applause
I’m already so adored
It’s all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh
I’m not meant to just stay quiet
I’m meant to be a lion
I’ll roar beyond a song
With every moment that I’ve got
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing
[Chorus]
He calls me chosen, free forgiven, wanted, child of the King,
His forever, held in treasure…
I am loved
I don’t need my name in lights…
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes…
English: Walking the dog on Honey Pot Lane Out of Gare Hill to the north east and heads off through Great Bradley Wood. P.S. A very friendly dog, put his head through my car window (open) and would not leave until I made a fuss of him. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“Go back?” he thought. “No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!” So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
“The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.” ― Steve Maraboli, Unapologetically You: Reflections on Life and the Human Experience
“Real transformation requires real honesty. If you want to move forward — get real with yourself.” ― Bryant McGill, Simple Reminders: Inspiration for Living Your Best Life
“The only thing a person can ever really do is keep moving forward. Take that big leap forward without hesitation, without once looking back. Simply forget the past and forge toward the future.” ― Alyson Noel, The Immortals Boxed Set
“If anyone can overcome a fear for the ocean, you can, little lady. Courage is being scared to death and saddlin’ up anyway.” ― Colleen Houck, Tiger’s Voyage
“We must be willing to get rid of
the life we’ve planned, so as to have
the life that is waiting for us.
The old skin has to be shed
before the new one can come.
If we fix on the old, we get stuck.
When we hang onto any form,
we are in danger of putrefaction.
Hell is life drying up.” ― Joseph Campbell, A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living
“Stop focusing on your past mistakes. Don’t be ashamed of the things that you’ve done. We ALL have made mistakes. Don’t you see? All of those things helped shape you into the beautiful person that you are today! Hold your head up high because you didn’t allow your past mistakes to consume you. You learned! You conquered! You became a better YOU. Be proud of who you are TODAY!” ― Stephanie Lahart
“The Well”
by Casting Crowns
Leave it all behind,
Leave it all behind,
Leave it all behind,
Leave it all behind,
I have what you need,
But you keep on searchin,
I’ve done all the work,
But you keep on workin,
When you’re runnin on empty,
And you can’t find the remedy,
Just come to the well.
You can spend your whole life,
Chasin what’s missing,
But that empty inside,
It just ain’t gonna listen.
When nothing can satisfy,
And the world leaves you high and dry,
Just come to the well
[CHORUS:]
And all who thirst will thirst no more,
And all who search will find what their souls long for,
The world will try, but it can never fill,
So leave it all behind, and come to the well
So bring me your heart
No matter how broken,
Just come as you are,
When your last prayer is spoken,
Just rest in my arms a while,
You’ll feel the change my child,
When you come to the well
[CHORUS:]
And all who thirst will thirst no more,
And all who search will find what their souls long for,
The world will try, but it can never fill,
So leave it all behind, and come to the well
Yeah
Leave it all behind
The world will try, but it can never fill… leave it all behind
And now that you’re full,
Of love beyond measure,
Your joy’s gonna flow,
Like a stream in the desert,
Soon all the world will see that living water is found in me,
Cuz you came to the well
[CHORUS:]
And all who thirst will thirst no more,
And all who search will find what their souls long for,
The world will try, but it can never fill,
So leave it all behind, and come to the well
[Outro:] leave it all behind, leave it all behind… [repeat]
“There is nothing so dangerous as a wounded animal…”
-24
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
― Frederick Douglass
“Depression is not caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, and it is not cured by medication. Depression may not even be an illness at all. Often, it can be a normal reaction to abnormal situations. Poverty, unemployment, and the loss of loved ones can make people depressed, and these social and situational causes of depression cannot be changed by drugs.”
― Irving Kirsch, The Emperor’s New Drugs: Exploding the Antidepressant Myth
“There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
“If you have a past with which you feel dissatisfied, then forget it, now. Imagine a new story for your life and believe in it. Focus only on the moments when you achieved what you desired, and that strength will help you to get what you want.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain
“Start calling yourself healed, happy, whole, blessed, and prosperous. Stop talking to God about how big your mountains are, and start talking to your mountains about how big your God is!”
“You can let it discourage you, but don’t let it define you…” -Flashpoint
Accepted
“And Grace calls out, ‘You are not just a disillusioned old man who may die soon, a middle-aged woman stuck in a job and desperately wanting to get out, a young person feeling the fire in the belly begin to grow cold. You may be insecure, inadequate, mistaken or potbellied. Death, panic, depression, and disillusionment may be near you. But you are not just that. You are accepted.’ Never confuse your perception of yourself with the mystery that you really are accepted.”
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out
Chosen
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is In Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you… and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. -Isaiah 62:3-4,5b.
Hang on! Your story is not over yet. Things may be crazy at the moment but remember God is faithful. He will walk you through this storm. When the winds of change start blowing, grab the closest thing and hang on!
hang on! (Photo credit: jenny downing)
2nd Corinthians 4:8-9 says, “We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up the hope of living. We are persecuted, but God does not leave us. We are hurt sometimes, but we are not destroyed.”
