it's nice to be understood

I really like to be understood. In fact, it really bothers me when I mean one thing and someone thinks I mean something else. I started thinking about it and realized that probably the most misunderstood Person is God. That makes me feel sad for Him. By misunderstood, I mean that He is so cool, and He wants to be close to us; but people misconstrue His thoughts. I think it is in our human nature to misunderstand Him and to think that He is always upset at us. Most people believe that He is rarely happy about us and that He has lots of impossible hoops for us to jump through. In truth, like any good dad or any good friend, He wants to give us the very best! I guess that's one reason that in Proverbs, He tells us to seek understanding. I bet He likes to be understood too :)

someone pays a price

Many years ago, I attended a large conference for women. The music was wonderful and just to be in a huge room with 20,000 women worshipping God was an experience in itself. I do not remember what the speakers talked about that day, but I clearly remember what I took home from that conference. I took home with me the decision that I did not desire to be one of those famous conference speakers! Before, I had thought it would be cool to speak to a ton of people and share words of wisdom with the multitudes; but after hearing what these women had been through, I had changed my mind. These famous speakers seemed to have paid a huge price for their audience. They had experienced a magnitude of loss and grief that, not only was shocking to me, but was clearly the very reason that they had so much influence and so much to share. I decided that day that I would just like to be little me, enjoying my family and taking advantage of the little opportunities of influence God brought my way, for I do not desire the tragic road to fame.

With all glory being given to God, we know that anything good is a gift from Him. Any success is because of grace, and not because of anyone's skill or influence. However, with that in mind, I have come to understand that when you see something that is great, successful or influential, you can know that someone has paid a price for it. If a family is close, and everyone in that family loves God and has successful marriages, someone has sacrificed for that to happen. If a business is growing and multiplying, someone has paid a price for its success.

The road to influence is a costly road. The pathway to success is lined with unadvertised hardship. The blessing of it all is that, when God calls us to go down a path, He is the One who gives us grace to endure the difficulties and the peace to enjoy the blessings. He alone knows where the roads of our lives will lead, but we can be at rest in His will, focusing on the path He has laid out for us!