Choosing Your Own Path

“Stop It!” I yelled at my cousin as I pulled him off the boy. The fight had erupted because of a comment the boy had made.  Even though it was insulting, my cousin had too short a fuse and preferred to think with his fist. Considering the comment was not even levied against my cousin but me, he was overreacting.  I appreciated the sentiment and he coming to my defense but for me choosing to find a peaceful resolution and not resorting to violence was the path I had chosen in life. It was not easy wanting to follow the principles of Christ when others found you to be soft or passive.  Even the principle of turning the other cheek was confusing.  How was I to realistically turn the other cheek when someone directly confronted me or wanted to cause me harm? These were things I pondered on a regular basis.

The young man had insulted my religious beliefs and my cousin being the firebrand he is came to my aid or so he thought. “Thank you, but he is entitled to his opinion,” I said half-heartedly, wanting to punch the boy in his face myself. Yet for me regardless of my internal conflict my choice was to follow the principle of love even when it was not requited. I look at our society today and find myself constantly being disheartened by the amount of violence we inflict upon one another. It seems our only answer and solution for every problem is some form of primitive response, completely ignoring our ability to reason.  I allowed the boy to rant and rave all he wanted. He said what I believed was foolish and ignorant.  Yet in the middle of his tirade I felt unnaturally calm and listened to his reasoning for his opinion. Unfortunately every word that came out of his mouth further agitated my cousin who appeared ready to tear the young man’s flesh off with his bare hands. “You know what, I have this cous”, I said quickly before he attacked the young man again. He looked at me hesitantly a moment but then started walking in the direction of his home.

As the young man continued talking he started to cry once my cousin was out of view. Taken aback and not sure what else to do I simply asked him what was wrong.  He began to tell me about his home situation and the problems his family were facing. Due to such difficulties and what he saw at home on a regular basis it was hard for him to reconcile the existence of God let alone a loving God. I listened intently to what he was saying all the while praying in my heart to ask God what I should or should not say to him. At the end of our conversation he had apologized for insulting me and I invited him to visit with me to our church. Years later I realized if I had chosen a different path on how to react to his initial insults, I could have lost a now close friend and then soul for Christ.

A Moment of Clarity

In Genesis chapter two verse seven man was declared a living soul and one of the first things he was given in addition to life was his free will and ability to make choices. God did not design us to be automatons that just did everything they were programmed to do without the ability to reason and to choose.  We have been endowed with the power to think rationally, and decide which road and destiny we will accept for ourselves and even which path in life we will follow. 

Our career paths are not the only path in life we have the opportunity to choose. Even our spiritual destinies and the things we choose to allow ourselves to focus on in our daily living.  Jesus said a man speaks out of the abundance of the things that are in his heart.  So what paths are we even choosing for our thoughts and minds today? Are we a society that is only built upon criminal, immoral and debase actions or are we a people capable of greatness in every facet of life. The choice is up to us which we will be.

It is not our leaders that have the right to choose our destination as a country. It is not our families or friends that have a right to choose our destiny and path in life as an individual. Except for our creator, we are sovereign in the direction our lives will go and the same goes for us as a country. We can be the best shining gem of the sea and Caribbean or we can be the house of debase, immoral criminals with no standards or concept of right living. The path we take and chose is truly our own to decide. I encourage you today to choose the path of life, light integrity and virtue as you live grateful for each moment of life you are given and learn to be everyday a Beacon of Light.

Beam of Light for the Week 

Tolerance and patience are like wells of living waters that wash away our prejudice and hate.  Learn to be tolerant and patient with yourself and others.

A Shattered Heart

“Get out of the way,” I screamed as loudly as I could. I careened the car to just narrowly avoid hitting the little girl by no more than a hairsbreadth. She had suddenly walked into the street out of nowhere, without any warning. I brought the car to a stop and felt my heart beating in my throat. “What were you thinking?” I shouted at her still angry by the fact she ran into the street but even more so by the fact I was terrified out of my mind of having come so close to hitting her and possibly taking her life. My mind raced a thousand miles a second. The only thought I had was what if it were one of my children and was about to begin another tirade of how foolish she was for running into the street until I saw her facial expression.

I looked into the little girls eyes and saw how frightened she truly was. Even more terrified than I had been for nearly hitting her. I took a deep breath, calmed myself and asked her name. She told me still shivering with fright and stuttering as she pronounced her name. “Why did you run into the road like that?” I asked now finally able to control the anger in my voice. “A dog was chasing me,” she said in a quiet voice and began to cry. I comforted the child and helped her find her way back home. As I pulled off from the child’s house, after having to explain to her mother what had happened, I breathed a sigh of relief.

I turned on the radio to listen to some music as I headed home. One of my favorite artists, Music Soul child, was singing one of my favorite melodies, Love. As I finally was beginning to settle after still being a little shaken from nearly hitting the little girl a news report interrupted the music. My heart stopped and blood ran cold as I listened to the reporter describe the scene of an accident. Apparently a little child was crossing the street in front of a bus that let her off and another bus driver trying to overtake hit and killed the child as the child was crossing the street.

For a moment I don’t know if I was simply in a bad dream or a living nightmare. The reporter continued to report how those persons who were on the scene attacked the driver in a rage. I felt comforted by that but also saddened at the same time. However, the full realization of the fact that it could have been me a few minutes earlier or even my child hit me like a ton of bricks. I felt a tear roll down my cheek, thinking of the child I narrowly missed, my own children, and the parents of that child, who now carried the burden of a shattered heart after losing their little one.

 A Moment of Clarity

The Bible speaks of God’s wrath in the Old Testament in many places. Yet even in God’s anger, there is always room for love. We daily cannot begin to fathom how much more God loves us than wants and desires to be angry over some of our foolish choices. Jesus spoke of being angry but not sinning. Anger alone is not a sin, yet how we deal with our anger can lead to sin or even salvation.  In his wrath Cain killed Abel, in his anger David condemned his own selfish actions, and even Moses in his anger caused himself not to be able to walk into the ‘Promise Land.’

Many times in our lives we face things that greatly affect us and stir us to anger. A lot of those times are in regard to things that have caused us to have a broken or even shattered heart. Yet even in our pain and anger, we can still learn to find hope and ask God to turn the pain of loss or even betrayal to something that can be used to bring glory to Heaven’s kingdom. It is not easy when someone hurts us to always forgive. Forgiveness is a process. It is not a onetime thing forgiving someone. It might take years until you are finally free from the pain someone has caused you or even you another individual. Yet the pursuit of love and forgiveness is easier than carrying the burden of anger and a shattered heart.

As we work daily to pursue excellence in our lives I encourage you to pursue love to overcome anger and hate and be grateful for each moment of life you are given and learn to be everyday a Beacon of Light.

 Beam of Light for the Week 

Anger is like a poison that saps away our strength and very lives. Yet love is the balm that heals all, pursue love and healing in your lives daily.

Love Deprivation

“Breathe! Breathe!” I screamed internally as hard as I could as I watched my little one fight to grasp a breath of air. I knew what it was to have difficulty breathing, growing up I was asthmatic as a child. My heart grieved within my chest, knowing there was nothing more I could do except let the doctor do his work. I could not begin to imagine what I would do if something happened to my bundle of joy. Love was a word I used in many relationships. Until this one I don’t think I ever really understood what it was to give a completely unconditional love without looking for something in return. It was a long night.

My patience was tried and I wanted to rest, however just waiting to hear what the doctor had to say kept me up. I thought of all the things I should have done but either failed to do or just made excuses at the time.

I said a silent prayer to God asking for everything to be alright and promised I would spend more time, and pay more attention once He allowed everything to be alright. An hour seemed like ten, and two like an eternity had passed. Finally I saw the approach of a white robe. I was uncertain if it was the same doctor until he stood right in front of me and said everything was alright.  It was a slight case of pneumonia the doctor went on to say.  He further explained the cause of what possibly caused it but I only heard everything would be alright. I thanked God in my heart and could not wait to see my baby and know she would be alright. I paid attention to the doctor’s explanation and the medication he said to buy. The words I had been waiting to hear all-night finally came. “You can take her home,” he said.

The words echoed in my heart and I was awash with joy knowing my little one was going to be alright and she was coming home.

When we finally arrived home, I quickly wrapped her up and took her inside to avoid any night air getting on her.  As I laid her down to sleep, my attention was drawn to the news report on the television. Apparently, a mother was being tried for killing her child and burying the child’s body in the woods. It was a story that happened in the United States. I looked at my little one now sleeping calmly and breathing a lot clearer than she was hours before and a tear rolled down my cheek.  Just from the thought of her not being able to breathe my heart was grieved, how much more to have her life taken or even worse to take her life by my own hand. I was dismayed and completely traumatized to think how any parent could be so cruel to deprive their child of life and more so love.

 A Moment of Clarity

As little children of God, He is constantly grieved to see us hurt or in pain when He would so willing pour His love as a river of living water into our lives. Even more so how often do we grieve God even further when we fail to love one another and give God the opportunity to use us to pour love into the lives of others and even our own.  We look around us and see crime constantly increasing and becoming more violent. Unemployment, poverty and depravity becoming the norm, and we would ask where is love in any of this. Christ said all the laws and rules were summed up in two commands. Love God with all you are and have and love your neighbor as you love yourself.

During this season and time that romantic love is so celebrated a lot of time we get caught up in the material aspect, worrying about what gift we will get and completely forget the spirit of the season.  In the world we live in today, it is a deprivation of sincerely genuine love in our homes, relationships, communities that has caused us to be in the trouble we see all around us. To coin a phrase, “Hurt people, Hurt people.” I encourage you during this time of Valentine and love to remember the beauty of love. For simply God is love. Love one another with sincerity and allow God to use your lives as a fountain to pour His love through. As we work and toil to fill each home with love and stave off the overflow of love deprivation that exists in our world to today let each of us be grateful for each moment of life you are given and learn to be everyday a Beacon of Light.

 Beam of Light for the Week 

There is nothing more powerful than a bond forged out of love. Love is what holds the planets, stars and universe in place, so I encourage you to forge everlasting bonds filled with love today.