Remember to Never Forget

Some people want to forget the past, and erase traumatizing memories from their minds. Their recollections of past events and mistakes sends shivers through their bones; it does the same to me. But I care not to erase scars for these are keepsakes, marks of experience gained through the ages. I do not want to forget where I came from. For the moment I do forget, I lose sight of what truly matters (helping and saving others) and I fall into pride-fueled ignorance.

So many people start from nothing and become blessed beyond measure, yet do not take into account the journey of their life because they are caught in the glory of the moment. Greed steals away their compassion, and they treat inferiors as slaves though they were once at their level.

I am thankful for the afflictions that humble us while we are high. I pray that I never become so enamored with my quality that I forget those who are still traversing the difficult path, and that I was once on that same path. And every time I look upon these scars I will treat them like badges remembering God’s goodness and mercy in a low time, remembering the people who still cared for me in my darkest point, and remembering my darkest point.

And when I see the battles getting harder, I will know that I am getting stronger. For God gives the hardest battles to his strongest soldiers. So remind me to never forget where I came from, where I am now, where I am going, and what I am going to do when I get there.

Light in the Dark

---Light in the Dark---

I am a friend of sorrow

Its company I borrow.

With morning's break

I lay prostrate awake.

Nights I spend pondering

Still days I spend slumbering.

Sitting and waiting for change to come

A bleak reality known by some.

But all my waiting does not avail

And I am lost in my own despair.

I patiently await my own execution

As the dust prepares my accommodations.

My spirit is poured out onto the earth

And I kneel weeping over the dearth.

I see my reflection, my blood runs bleak

And my body wavers frail as it becomes weak.

The light is snuffed out, now in isolation.

While depravity alienates me in my destitution.

I hear the wind, but do not feel it

I see the water, but cannot drink it.

Through a foggy glass I peer

And still salvation is not too clear.

Obscured under breath, the image is gone.

Somehow I find the strength to press on.

I am detained, enslaved, regretfully.

A life that no longer avails to me.

A fantasy that is no longer mine to gain

My purpose is oblique, to me uncertain.

Maybe I suffer so that others would not

But suffering itself, the world hasn't forgot.

Denied what other's would not live without

Yet secretly ridiculed for moping about.

I do not feel that pity that I loathe.

I do not hate it, I do not love.

The world is a chaotic battleground

And I have been shot, my body unfound.

Maybe it was for the best that I end toiling there

Stagnant in my earthen lair

Than to have my head high in the clouds

And overlook the reality we all enshroud.

I see the pain that is real and plenty

And have dealt my hand with uncertainty.

I evaded the long perceptible reach

Of a congregation so thoroughly bleached.

I Found a way 

That leads away from decay.

And found a home

Where many lie alone.

The truth is clear, I know that much

To teach the world the truth and such.

Because I am alive I have time to spare

To share with those who actually care

Of a love that supersedes human expectation

And into new life on an eternal foundation.

Your Life is Meaningful

I would like to share something that came to mind while I was listening to a particular song that piqued my interest. It was about a particular man, but I didn't know who that man was since his name was never revealed. But there were clues in the lyrics as to who it was, saying he was a man who aimed for the stars, but was met with criticism in his efforts. Perseverance drove that man to the things he later accomplished. Later I came about to watching a documentary about a man who fit the details in the song, and, plugging in the similarities, I discovered who it was. It was about Robert Goddard, father of modern rocketry, though during most of his life, he was not recognized for much. But he had a vision, to design a rocket that would travel to space (which was ludicrous at the time since air flight was a recent technological breakthrough).

Despite public criticism, he persevered and worked hard to achieve the results he desired. In the end he succeeded in building a rocket that achieved an altitude no device had ever reached before, and so he was recognized. His work paved the way for future technologies that would allow people to fly to space.

The thought here is that this man didn't have a belt of accomplishments, he is mainly recognized for this one thing. But he worked hard for it, and still believed in his vision even though everyone else rejected him. In the end he came to develop one of the greatest inventions of all time. His life was worth that discovery. I think to myself, God has placed a desire in our hearts. We sometimes think We must accomplish a plethora of meaningful things to leave behind a glorious legacy. But sometimes it is that one thing that you are called to, that one glimmer you chase while everyone else pursues extravagant accommodations.

Maybe you feel like what you have is not enough. You want to come to God with a great bounty, but have only collected a stray morsel. Whatever you have, God will multiply it. But it will only come through hard work and determination. If you give up following your calling, you forfeit your impact on the world. You could be the next great innovator of your time, but because you do not realize that what you have has greater significance than you might think and eternal significance, you pass the blessing on to someone else who will endear his stray morsel. It never looks like enough, but it is all God needs.

Sometimes you may feel like your life is meaningless, but the idea is: If you live your life only to accomplish one thing during your lifetime, your life is meaningful no matter how small that accomplishment is.