I don't truly realize how blessed I am. This is kind of a post that expresses a deep sense of gratitude for my Heavenly Father and all the love that He has shown me.
As many know I really enjoy doing a lot of things and I have a talent to be able to do a lot of things. If I had the funds and time I would be doing even more things, but what the Lord has blessed me with is an ability to learn and think for myself. My greatest teacher is the Spirit from which I can learn many of life's lessons. The Spirit helps me think rationally about situations. It helps me overcome fears that I have in daily life when addressing complicated problems. The Spirit is one of the best gifts that I have and I wouldn't trade it for the world. It has given me a sense of hope that carries me from one lesson and life principle to the next.
The blessings bestowed upon my household are numberless. Even though I try to count and name them they still will always exceed my grasp. The reason for that is because there are blessings we have been given that we don't even know about yet. I love my wife. I love her to death.
What I wish I could impart to the world is the knowledge that we are not alone. We can learn. We can grow. I've often thought, "What would I be like if everything were taken away from me?" Would I be like Job? Would I curse the Lord my God? If I found myself in a complete rut would the circumstance provide a way to overcome my inabilities? What would a beggar need to do to come out on top? One of my key pieces of advice would be to stop any drugs or smokes. If a man can survive on bread and water then he is in good condition. I would make a sign that says will work for food. I might even go door to door asking for work so that I could buy food. People are generous with food, but they are not generous with money but after all, money is not a necessity. I believe that shelter comes after food. So once one is sustained they can try to find some sort of permanent residence. Along with that residence comes the ability to store items and collect. Try to find a stable job instead of doing freelance. I feel like as long as one has hope they can do anything, because hope leads to faith, which conquers fear, and fear is what stops us from reaching any sort of potential that we all possess as sons and daughters of God.
Moving to a different subject... I am so grateful for the Boy Scouts of America. In Scouts I had to get a certain merit badge called Family Life in order to obtain my Eagle Scout award. One of the requirements to achieve this merit badge was to make a budget. Well, the principles I learned from making that budget so long ago come into full force today. I had to make a budget last week and I was able to make it down to the nitty gritty of Ashley and my life. While before I was getting a little scared about this upcoming semester I know feel super calm and not only that, I feel like I am going to enjoy this semester a lot thanks to my darling wife... who is staring at me right now while putting on lip gloss... creepy...
Life is absolutely incredible. Never give up hope and always have the Lord on your side because his team is always going to come out on top. Can anyone give me a hypothetical design job that I could work on to help build my portfolio?
Creepy??!? Psh. And it was chapstick, not lip gloss. There's a big difference :p
ReplyDeleteI hope you get blessed with eyes and an appreciation of reality, Douglas. No one walks in another's shoes or uses his hands.
ReplyDeleteI have been skillful at having insurance that people ahead of me were so gracious to think of inventing. You do know I am on disability and it is an insurance, don't you. Social Security is based on Railroad Retrement and is wholly supported.
I don't do drugs and rarely if ever do I drink. When I was working to get my insurance, which both federal doctors immediately agreed I was disabled within minutes, I had a good friend next door who let me have water from his outside tap for 9 months. I had no income to pay for it and my water was off for 3 seasons.
I could not walk, I could not sit. My arms were asleep up to my armpits and my legs were asleep to where.. there weren't legs anymore. I had already used my savings paying my bills (don't ever do that when you are older unless you are terribly capable. Don't beat yourself up, go bankrupt, take responsibility. Be prepared to dibby out your money if you have to.)
I think you feel healthy and strong and you are incredibly bright. You SHOULD feel you have a teflon coat! It's great to be involved. It is a good thing and a great to do whatever you can IF you can. It is really easy to comment on conditions but some people are masters of living and survival and one doesn't always pick it up.
Don't think the poor do drugs. (suburbs have the highest rates.) In Florida the governor swore there was druggies he was going to "catch" that were on welfare. There were 19. He spent 150 million dollars to save 40 thousand and to devalue hundreds of thousands of people. Oh he was part owner in the drug testing company.
You are worth a lot, more than you know and don't have to take the low road. Just try to use the best talent you have to get the best job for you. Once I felt horrible during Ronald Reagan's recessions, he was hammering on how bad working people were. I didn't feel able to work at McDonalds. I landed a job shoveling tar. I took a test to get into chemistry there and had the highest entrance test result there since 1889 and got sampler and then the chemist's job! Don't sell yourself short! Just try and don't fret.
"Being there is 80% of the battle" it has been said...no one's a monkey (unless you are really good at it) and you are more important than you think. They may be afraid they won't fill the job!
I hope you had a good Labor Day! Uncle Vince