When I was in my early 20’s, I began what became a 5-year career of working for a bank. I began as a teller, but first I was required to go to teller training. This is where we were taught policies, procedures, balancing our drawer and effective ways to communicate with our customers. In addition to learning these very important aspects of banking during our training, we handled a lot of money. (more…)
One of the most empowering things I have learned to do is “Let Go” of the control in my life. I have learned to live my life realizing that the best way I can make a difference is to begin with where I need to improve, asking God to help me.
I have also learned there are some people that have not yet learned this lesson. They spend way too much time looking at others and pointing fingers trying to tear their lives down, rather than using words to build one up. These people are unable to look in the mirror and see the error of their ways. Many times it can be because those closest to them do not model a better way. There is a loving way to communicate to a loved one that what they are saying or doing is hurtful, thoughtless and arrogant. On the flip side, be very wise about where you point your finger. Many a person will turn to be your enemy if you point at them. Only those ready to receive constructive criticism accept it and use it to improve. It has also been said that those who point their finger are telling a lot about them selves. Kind of like looking in a mirror. Taking the log our of our own eyes before we try to tell someone about a tiny speck of dirt in theirs is crucial in creating change from love.
The bottom line is that we all have done things we are not proud of and we know it. There is forgiveness readily available. We can self examine, ask God for the strength to help us change and work toward that end. That is where we will begin to see change happen around us. Using the Serenity Prayer can be helpful to us in these times. Thinking on things that are uplifting, look for the good in others and realizing that we have a great influence on others through what we say and how we live our own lives can be an amazing way to effect change without interfering and creating enemies.
It is so hard with all the responsibilities that we have in our daily lives, especially if we are single mothers, to take time to be still. But if we begin by setting aside 5 minutes daily as a part our routine, to read one verse of Scripture and then close our eyes and listen to our innermost being, we would find that would crave that 5 minutes, because of the benefits it provides. It sets the precedent for our day, intentionally develops a closer relationship with God, and sets the stage for the lives around us. It is much like diet; we discipline ourselves because we know it is good for us, we eat select foods for proper nourishment and we exclude certain foods from our diet because we know they are empty of anything necessary for our healthy development. If we can discipline ourselves in this, it would seem that it would be easy to discipline ourselves in taking 5 minutes to listen to our Creator, and to explore and learn more about who this Being is that loves us so much. But it isn’t easy, and like many things we strive for, we have to demand it of ourselves before we realize the benefit. It is then through the unfolding of your days that you will see the ultimate benefit of your self-discipline. It will be heard through a child’s profession that Christ is her Savior, or through a college student that says, I know God is in control, or maybe it will just be a peace inside of you that you cannot explain. However it is shown to you, you will know and you will desire more and more of it!