You Are Prepared

"You are not defined by your past,

you are prepared by your past."

 

-Joel Osteen

 

 

 

You cannot know what you are being prepared for, plain and simple, but I know it's great. What you are experiencing today, or have been through yesterday, may be the exact circumstance needed to propel you to unimaginable heights that would have been impossible otherwise. Coping with adversity gives us the opportunity to:

• develop skills that bring us closer to our one true purpose,
• meet amazing people who come into our lives just when we need them most and change us forever,
• learn what we are made of through perseverance and rely on new-found strength,
• cultivate faith and watch fear take a flying leap.

You don't have to live your life from the viewpoint of a victim any longer, you are merely being prepared.

 

While we can't see the process as it's unfolding- in other words, in the midst of difficulty we can't always identify the good that will result- we can trust that we are exactly where we are supposed to be at every moment. You have what you need to move forward, so keep going sisters and brothers.

 

I recently shared with a friend the frequency of my family moves as a child, on average every two to three years. At every new school, I was often singled out, made fun of, picked on and criticized for being different. At each juncture, I left behind close friends and familiar  surroundings accompanied by many tearful good-byes. While I wouldn't wish for anyone to have the same experience, I learned a great deal from having to adapt many times over. As an adult I intuitively know how to create a quick community of loyal friends out of necessity, I am friendly and empathetic to a fault because I've been on the receiving end of left-out, I have a grand appreciation and love of nature because of all the beautiful places I've lived (so hard to pick a favorite, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming...), I am self-confident because I've learned that I decide my self worth, not the bully down the street. The experience of being uprooted over and over provided me with depth of character, perhaps my biggest asset. I've benefited in more ways than I can even begin to list.

 

Our past does not ever limit us in what we can achieve. We cannot use any particular adversity as an excuse for not pursuing what we are being called to do. Quite the opposite, I believe in cultivating gratitude for our challenges, for we wouldn't be who we are today without them.

 

What difficulties have you faced and how have you grown because of them? What are you doing now that would have been impossible without a particular challenge? Do you have the courage to trust that you are being prepared each and every day?

 

If you lived your life from this simple premise- I am being prepared and not defined... what then becomes possible for you, my friend? 

 

I know the answer... everything.