Surrendering Dreams

I don't usually respond to posts on other blogs, but this is an exception. One of the Altogether Separate community members recently sent me to a post by Miss Raquel over at the God's Daughter blog. She told the story of a fellow Christian blogger who died in May, leaving a striking legacy behind him.


In the last blog post that he published, Joshua Steven Eddy wrote about the need to surrender everything— even those beautiful dreams that we hold close to our hearts—to the Lord. His words were inspiring:

To surrender a precious dream is a fearful thing, but to pursue anything but the full measure of the glory of God’s love is a wasted life.

About two weeks after he wrote this, Joshua was killed in a hiking accident. 

It Is Unto the Lord

If my life is mediocre, it is unto the Lord.

If my life is extraordinary, it is unto the Lord

Warm, a photo by Casey David on Flickr.

A Life With Wings

I'm asking for a show of hands: how many of you would love to live as mediocre a life as possible? 

OK, now that those people have been escorted out of the blogosphere, I'll turn to the rest of you normal ones. What is the point of living your one life if it's boring, pointless, or just plain stupid? Some people live like they're trying their best to be a cautionary tale!

Don't be that guy.

The motto behind living "a life with wings" is to fly as far as possible away from the mediocre and toward a God who has the whole world in his hands. What does a life like that look like? Here are a few pointers: 

1. It is driven by a passion. Floating aimlessly through life will not give you the best results (unless you're Forrest Gump).
2. It is goal oriented. Not fluffy dreams, not hopeless resolutions, just concrete goals. 
3. It is full of meaningful relationships. What is the point of a life lived alone? No man is an island.
4. Take baby steps and enjoy the journey. Every day can have something wonderful, you just have to find it.
5. Expect miracles. Don't just believe in them, look for them around every corner!
6. Live like you were dying. Think about it. What would you do? Now make that a priority. 
7. Abandon yourself to God. Hold nothing back and trust him completely. What do you have to lose?

I'm just starting my life "for real". I've always been a kid before, but things are going to get very serious very soon. I will have the chance to forge my own life story, my own destiny and future. I can put it into God's hands, I can follow his will, or I can go my own way. I can live for the moment, I can live for the past, I can live for the future. There are choices to be made--choices we all have to make every day of our lives. 

"Always live your life with your biography in mind." —Gareth van Meer

Would you be interested in reading your own biography if you died right now? If not, change something! Stop existing and start living. Start living a life with wings!

The Beating Of Wings, a photo by ammgramm on Flickr.

Ideas Are Worthless

Just Full Of Ideas originally uploaded by Cayusa

While reading Uncle Tom's Cabin I consistently found myself identifying with a single character.  It was disturbing. I wasn't seeing myself in the winsome, passionate little Eva, or in the solid, good-hearted Tom. I didn't feel a kinship with the wild, tortured Cassy and only just a little bit with the prim Ms. Ophelia. Whom did I identify myself with the most?

Augustin St. Clair--the rich, good-looking, romantic young man whose head is full of ideals, and whose hands lay idle.

I listened to the No More Mondays podcast the other day and heard the episode, "Your Ideas are Worthless." Well, gee, that's not something you hear everyday. Everyone is telling you, "Dream big! Don't be afraid to think outside the box! You can be great if you only believe you're great!" And what did the show's hosts say? Poppycock. Hogwash. 

Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

Room corner shadow reflection, originally uploaded by Bird Eye.

How many times have you turned down the chance to do something just because it was outside your comfort zone? If you're like me, you sort of shrink away from risk and unexpected or unpredictable circumstances. 


I think that I get part of that from my mom. She's virtually a hermit (except when it comes to close friends and family) and would rarely socialize if the rest of us didn't force her to (we love you, Mom <3). 


I sometimes look at situations and, instead of viewing them logically and trying to think of the worst possible scenario, get this clenching fear in my gut that something is going to go awfully wrong. It's a completely negative and unwarranted way to deal with new events.


You know what litmus test I use when I'm tempted to pass up an unusual opportunity? 


"Will I regret not doing this?"


Notice that I did not state it in the positive - "Will I regret doing this". Instead, if it looks like a perfectly respectable and enriching experience, I try to imagine how I will feel a few months down the road when I look back. 


Will I wonder what might have been? 
Will I try to imagine the wonderful ways I might have grown? 
What I might have found out? 
What fun it could have been? 
How I might have enriched the lives of others? 


If it looks good to my mind, then by all means, I need to shove my panic-stricken little hermit down deep into the earth and strike out to meet a daring future. 


Every now and then I think to myself, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What will happen if I pass it up?" Perhaps my worst fear:

MEDIOCRITY. 

Room corner shadow reflection, originally uploaded by Bird Eye.

I Do Not Choose to Be a Common Man

Overshadow, originally uploaded by adrazahl.

Maybe you've heard this one before, I believe that it's rather popular out here on the internet. However, I don't think that it can hurt to hear it again. We all need to be reminded at times that life can be much bigger than we tend to make it.

"It is my right to be uncommon—if I can. I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, 'This I have done.'" 

-Dean Alfrange

-Originally published in This Week Magazine. Later reprinted in The Reader’s Digest, October 1952 and January 1954.