OUTRAGEOUS LIVING REPOSTED

I am re-posting a blog I did last year that had just turned things on the head for me…a reminder that all is on track

Outrageous living
Jul12 2013

I have just finished reading “The OUTRAGEOUS life: Letting God Take You From Ordinary to Outrageous” by Dwayne Morris,….I have to quote an excerpt here that rocked my life…

“My favourite story about perspective involves a father and his two little sons, one of whom was an eternal optimist, while the other was a perpetual pessimist. One Christmas, he decided to try to temper both of their perspectives − in addition to their standard gifts, he told them they’d each get something “chosen especially for you!” His plan was to give the pessimist every toy and game he could possibly desire, while the optimist would be directed to the basement filled with manure. On Christmas, after the normal presents were opened, the father sent the optimist to the cellar, while leading the pessimist to the room filled with presents.

After the pessimist opened all the gifts, he turned to his father with a sad face and said, “How can I possibly use all these? The TV will wear out, the PlayStation will get smashed, and all the other toys will be broken!”

After a few minutes of listening to such woe, the father remembered his optimistic son and ran to the basement steps. There in the basement was his other son, swimming through the manure with a gleeful smile. The father asked him why he was so happy, to which the boy exclaimed, “With this much manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

This little story has had a profound effect on my day. it has brought many things into question and reality. Some of the questions I have been left working through are:

1. What is my view of life?
2. Am I joyful and gleeful despite and in spite of the
circumstances?
3. How well do I live my life and enjoy the circumstances?
4. Do I trust my Papa to have my best interests at heart even
when He gives me something ‘not nice’ like manure?

I have no answers for the above as the thought process is on and I am trusting that by the end of the day I’ll be closer to the right place than I was at the day’s break. One thing I realised as I read the book is that this walk is a daily and moment by moment affair and I will never get to the place where I have arrived. When I arrive and reach perfection I will be at home in heaven…astounding thought but totally true. I look forward to a richer, deeper and more fulfilling relationship with Papa.

Here is to a new start every day.

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