Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent on dragging me down.
And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.
He stood right before me with his head tilted down
And said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”
In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn – not enough rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,
I faked a smile and then shifted away.
But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,
“It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful too.
That’s why I picked it; here, it’s for you.”
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”
But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed for the first time
That weed-toting boy could not see…he was blind.
I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun
As I thanked him for picking the very best one.
“You’re welcome,” he smiled, and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.
I sat there and wondered how he managed to see
A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know of my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.
Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see
The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.
And for all of those times I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that’s mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose
And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose
And smiled as I watched that young boy, another weed in hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.
No matter what tragic event occurs in your life…there is hope. No matter how despondent or sad you may feel…there is hope. No matter if you feel all alone or someone has made you feel worthless…there is hope. No matter if you believe me or not…there is HOPE!
Truth 180’s mission is to turn around the lives of adults and adolescents struggling with substance abuse and related mental health disorders through the provision of intensive outpatient therapy, family-centered treatment, and a holistic approach that empowers those at-risk to adopt truth, integrity and change as personal values.
Their vision is to create a safe, sober, and socially responsible community.
If you, or someone you know is in need of hope, call us today. We want to help you turn your life around…and show you that there truly is hope for your life.
This morning I turned on the computer to check out my favorite social networking and news outlets. The worst man-made ecological disaster in the history of Louisiana, the United States, and perhaps the world, was written up on every forum. Reading the various informational viewpoints, I sadly wondered if life in Louisiana would ever be normal again. Or, will our way of life be altered drastically due to the likely negligence of another irresponsible corporation?
This corporation, according to published news accounts, purposely and effectively enforced and protected its business ‘bottom line’ while simultaneously destroying the ‘bottom line’ of many things living that found themselves in its path, whether or not the latter was their corporate intent. The corporation is British Petroleum (BP). This multi-billion dollar enterprise may be shown to consistently choose profit, personal greed and power over life-saving safeguards which could potentially prevent disasters like the deadly Deepwater Horizon rig fire and subsequent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Almost at the five year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana has been dealt yet another disastrous blow. With the greatest blow ever felt to its ecosystem, and possibly the greatest blow to come to its economy, Louisiana is in crisis. With more oil spilling into the Gulf, numerous species of wildlife and plant life damaged or dying, and rumors of the life damaging water and air toxicities from the dispersants being used by British Petroleum, many of us are left feeling intense anger as well as a sense of impending doom. As residents of this great state, and as human beings, we cry out loud for these losses. We also mourn the loss of human life and the loss of life potential. In addition, we are gravely aware of the probable loss of livelihood faced by the seafood industry as well as that of the hardworking and dedicated fishermen and their families. I know that many hearts ached and understood the depths of sorrow as we watched the wives of the boat captains on a recent news show as one of these women tearfully stated, “We do not know what our families are going to do. This is the only way of life we have ever known.”
This disaster has also made me relive feelings I had in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Katrina destroyed our homes, livelihoods, and sense of security. It then forced people in Louisiana to rebuild every aspect of their life amidst feelings of unimaginable loss and unrelenting grief. However, our people displayed unmatched courage and strength which became an anthem for the rest of the country. The country and the world watched us intently as we worked hard to rebuild new lives from complete destruction. We became the heroes of that story because of inward determination and plain faith that showed the rest of the world that we were a people of substance and that we could bring Southeast Louisiana back from ruin. But, how do we deal with back to back disasters, with the latest being on a potentially larger magnitude?
Since Katrina, Louisianans have united to bravely move forward to insure our communities, and state, would be a better place to live than it was prior to the storm. This latest disaster with BP is challenging our determination in a similar way as did Katrina. Some of the same battles are being fought with ill-informed political officials and community leaders, negligent corporations, and with the planning, implementation and execution of clean-up activities, as well as with oil industry standard operating procedures. Many other unknowns will also occur before this oil spill crisis comes to its end.
What do we do? We do what we have always done in times of war, economic depression, famine and fatigue, and in the face and aftermath of horrendous disasters in this great country! We fight back in the most effective, intelligent way possible to combat that which threatens to destroy something we love! Louisiana is our home and in order to effect tangible change, we must arm ourselves with the proper information to help us to begin any sort of clean-up effort, or campaign to insure this sort of disaster never happens again.
I want to encourage and inspire all of us to begin to look at what is occurring right now with the oil spill so we are up to speed with all issues at hand. Find out who the players are in your area working on this spill and contact them to see where you can help. Know who your local, state, and federal representatives are and call upon them; ask them what their plans are to stop the crisis. Stay in contact with these representatives until this crisis is over. Use your online search engines to find out who the local non-profit organizations and foundations are that are assisting the people involved in the crisis. Donate your time and/or your money to their efforts. Always give locally first, then nationally, and most especially give to those organizations already at ground zero. Once you have all of this information, then find out how you can be of service to the families who have lost loved ones, or their livelihoods.
As for British Petroleum? Don’t let them spill our dreams. Research their business practices and efforts prior to, during, and after this spill. Take that information and use it to educate your public officials to insure that this corporation updates its policies and procedures. Do this so that this sort of disaster never occurs in our state, or our country, ever again.
Ever stop to think about what life truly means to you? Have you really stopped to think about your life? For example, are you spending each day as you would like? Do you enjoy your job, is it really a meaningful part of your life? Have your dreams come true in regards to where you want to be at this exact moment of your life? Do you have joy? Have you ever thought about what your life’s legacy will be, or where you will go when it is your time to pass away from this world?
If you asked me to answer these questions my responses would be…yes, yes, no, sometimes, not wholly, sometimes, and yes. As I am writing this article, I do realize my answers are not as I want them to be, I truly wanted to state yes to each question. So, if you are expecting responses from me on these questions for you, then you need to think again. As a matter of fact, no one person can answer the questions for you, or me; each response must be inspired through the experience of each individual’s life.
When I was a child, and throughout my teenage years, my culture taught me and my siblings that we could be anything we wanted to be. Have you heard that before? It is a pretty standard saying in our great country. The reality, however, is that in order to be everything you wanted to be growing into adulthood you would have needed to know everything there was to know about your future. For example, you would have needed all of the data relative to all of the ups and downs, problems, tragedies, or life-altering events which were lying in wait for you, and the tools necessary to properly process each event. In addition, you would have needed information on every person that you would meet and what their individual influence would be on each aspect of your life.
Think of it, you would have also needed prior data on the relationships that did or did not pan out, and data on all of the joys and heartbreaks which would come your way to mold you into the person you eventually became, that person you are right now. Guess what, that did not happen did it? It did not happen because life is not scripted that way. So, we are left with the reality that you are the person you are today because of individual life, or spiritual occurrences and not by being prepared to address each one as it occurred. Let’s examine more of this together.
Everyone has something which they rely on to “guide” their life, and each one of us defines ours individually. This “guide” could be a religion, a person, an internal belief system, or anything that we think may add meaning or purpose to our life’s journey. As a person of Christian faith, I try to maintain a constant focus on the teachings of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and utilize them in my daily walk; it is deeply important to me that my overall journey be meaningful and valuable. I am sure you chose a “guide” to cultivate or possess the same or similar type of meaning for your own life. So, if we have the all important “guide” then why can’t we answer yes to every question posed to us in this article. Hmm?
We cannot answer yes to all of these questions because our journey in life, regardless of our chosen “guide,” is imperfect and flawed. There is absolutely no way to make that journey perfect. As human beings we are not presented with all of the answers to our prospective journey’s in advance. Therefore, though we may strive for perfection in our lives, we will always make choices based on historical data, present day information, future projections, or simply by faith.
Then, how do we ever finitely answer yes to all of the questions mentioned in the beginning of this article? We do not! Simple as that, we do not and that is one of the most beautiful, and at the same time confusing, parts of our existence. We are given the gift of not knowing so we may have the choice of participating in the “guidance” of our own lives. For good or bad, this gift is a blessing. However, some people say you cannot define life’s real meaning anyway. These people might say it is all subjective and each individual must determine their life’s meaning solely on their own. In truth, these people are still on their individual life journey. I say there is much meaning to each of our lives and finding the root of that meaning means self examination and spiritual exploration. Not so easy, I know, but so very necessary to not only answer these article’s questions with great conviction but also other life questions not even posed or posted in this article.
I am not a spiritual advisor nor am I a philosopher, but I am a man of faith. And, like you, I am human and on a personal life journey. It is my goal to answer yes to all of these questions one day. But, for now I cannot. Instead, I will settle on learning the truths which will be found in the ongoing examination of each question. There is no enlightened method or “cookie cutter” example which will help any of us define or outline the journey of our lives, and no one can tell you otherwise. Individually, we all must look at ourselves wholly and begin a journey to answer our life’s most challenging questions, and begin to take personal stock of the life our Creator gave to us, a life which will one day become our legacy.
All articles written by David Kiviaho are copy written. Please request permission to repost, copy, distribute, publish, or otherwise utilize any, or part, of articles published herein.
As Lenny sat down for our interview, I noticed the tattoos encircling his neck. With intricate detailing, the names within those tattoos were those of his children. How strange, I thought to myself, that this person with the seemingly tough exterior would go through the ultimate pain of body art to expose the love of his children. Perhaps not strange at all, because once our interview time was completed I got to know Lenny from a truly honest place. It was in this place that I met a man yearning for a life where love was not only possible, but real. I later asked him about the tattoos and he told me none of them were associated with gangs and while in prison, never thinking he would get out, he followed the prison culture which, in part, included getting multiple tattoos. However, most of the tattoos mean something special to Lenny. Each depict special people in his life including a large one on his back to memorialize his brother and another on his leg to memorialize his best friend, both who died because of drugs. Lenny is a thirty-one year old white male receiving intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment with Truth 180…it is my honor to share with you Lenny’s story.
Lenny’s journey into substance abuse began at the age of nine with marijuana, a drug his brother introduced him to, a drug which most people at a young age experiment with for the first time. At ten years old Lenny was using cocaine and at eleven he was snorting heroin, which he also began injecting at the age of thirteen.
Growing up in the lower eighth ward of New Orleans, Lenny celebrated his fourteenth birthday by going into the St. Thomas housing projects to buy drugs. In a drug deal gone tragically wrong, Lenny was shot three times with a .38 caliber handgun and left for dead. While being stabilized in the hospital, doctors added Oxycodon to Lenny’s regimen of “lifesaving” drugs.
The remaining part of Lenny’s story is, like the first part above, as if written for a Hollywood movie script. Lenny’s story, woven through real life tragedy, probably would not be believed if you had read it on the pages of that script. At the age of seventeen Lenny would begin an eight year prison sentence due to drug charges, never wanting to be clean from drugs and expecting to die one day in prison. Lenny’s father died of a drug overdose in 2000, his brother committed suicide because of drugs in 2007 and his mother died from a drug overdose in 2009. While on parole in 2008, Lenny accidently overdosed and found himself back in prison shortly thereafter.
During the time of his mother’s drug-related death in 2009, Lenny received three more felony-related charges which brought him to Truth 180’s treatment program. In and out of drug rehabilitation facilities and hospital mental health units over the years, Lenny is now clean since entering the intensive outpatient substance abuse program of Truth 180, meaning that he has not failed a drug test or received any sanctions for drug related activities.
“I miss my mom, my dad, and my brother and even though I am clean I wonder what I am doing in my life,” Lenny told me near the end of our interview. “I don’t miss the chaos of doing drugs. I want to be a good Daddy, because I was not always there for my son who is now twelve. I am working on my relationship with him as well as my two young daughters who do not fully understand everything I have put my family through to this point. I want a regular home, nice vehicle, and a decent job.” Lenny also noted. He also stated that this may be difficult due to his past and when I reminded him it is not impossible, I could see the real glimmer of hope in his eyes. “If I could change anything in my whole life, it would be that I would never have gotten high. I want something different for my life than being a addict. I don’t blame my parents, I blame myself,” Lenny stated.
Lenny is an extremely likable young man who fully understands his choices, coupled with life’s tragedies, brought him to a place of redemption that many people will never realize. It is in this place that Lenny is now making new choices and attains new revelations about life. These choices and revelations will hopefully allow Lenny to sincerely realize his net worth to his children and, one day, as a positive influence within our society. It is my prayer that Lenny one day knows that, in the words of our staff nurse, Willa Thompson, “Your beginning does not dictate your end.”
Beauty, poise, honest green eyes with hope in their soul…that is what I saw when I met Callie. She happily smiled at me as if to ease my discomfort; I quietly smiled back letting her know I was alright. I began the interview by informing Callie the topics we were to discuss may be uncomfortable and if at anytime she had any objections to just stop me. She stopped me then and said, “I can talk about anything you want to.” And talk we did.
At the age of eight years old, Callie’s father taught her to get drunk. She left a world of toys, hair braiding, dress-up, and childhood dreams that day. Instead, she unknowingly walked through a looking glass into the always destructive world of addiction. Each day, thereafter, became a painful and poignant journey for her that is often so typical in substance abuse.
Callie’s father had a best friend that she treated like family. She trusted and felt safe with, even protected by, the best friend…until one day, when she was nine, this man sexually molested Callie. Both were drunk at the time. “I thought for a long time that I had done something to make him do that to me, that I had acted a certain way to cause him to do it,” Callie told me. She further stated, “Later I learned it was not me at all.” Callie did not tell anyone of the incident. Years later, the best friend of her father died of a cocaine overdose, which caused his heart to burst open.
At the age of twelve, her father introduced Callie to marijuana (weed); she would go on to use alcohol and weed every day until she was sixteen years old. Her father? He continued to feed his addiction with alcohol, drugs, and sex with nameless women, in the family home on a frequent basis. This behavior became normal to Callie, “I thought everyone lived this way,” she said with a shrug. Regarding the addictive behavior of her father, Callie said, “but he is very sick (in his addiction).” I asked Callie where her mother was during this time period and she proudly said, “she was trying to get an education to better herself and had to work all the time to take care of the family and go to school.”
When Callie was thirteen, her mother moved the both of them to Louisiana, leaving the father in Florida. This was to be a new start, a new life. But, for Callie, using substances continued every day. And, every day her addiction deepened. I asked Callie how teachers, or non-substance using adult friends or acquaintances of her parents, were not aware of the substance use in her family. How could they not see her substance use throughout all of those years? “We were taught not to let teachers or anyone know of our living conditions from a young age, others just did not know,” Callie said with conviction.
Today, Callie is twenty-two years old. She has sold drugs and stolen money to buy drugs. Callie has abused substances including alcohol, pills, cocaine, and has injected heroin. She tried to kill herself three times and was ordered into mental health facilities on three different occasions. At the age of twenty, Callie was raped, becoming pregnant as a result of that rape. She aborted the fetus and according to Callie, “this broke me.” She would then try inpatient substance abuse treatment which did not work for her at that time. Callie was simply not there for the right reason, to become clean and sober.
She left that treatment facility and began shooting heroin within a week of her departure, stealing money to support the habit. Her mother had put her out of the home and Callie found herself literally on the street. Then, she got caught by law enforcement and was placed in jail for theft where she would detox and spend the next six months. Callie finally realized that she did not want to live this lifestyle any longer. However, she was simply not prepared to move forward on her own.
Upon her release from jail Callie had to appear before a Judge at the 22nd Judicial District Court in Covington, LA for the theft which had landed her in jail. She had been sober, though forced, for six months while incarcerated. The Judge gave her an opportunity to speak and Callie stated that she was now sober, the Judge disagreed and they argued a bit. The Judge won. Luckily, Callie had found herself in the 22nd Judicial District Drug Court.
Callie was ordered to treatment with Truth 180, a substance abuse clinic which serves the Florida Parishes. She has been in treatment with the agency for four months now, though she did not want to be there in the beginning. “I had no clue how to live sober, for so long I had lived a drug life…I now don’t know what I would do without this (Truth 180). I am glad I have to pee in a cup twice per week (drug testing)…it is a blessing. Thank God, this is the best I have felt in my whole life.”
I asked Callie what lies ahead for her and what she wanted from life now. “I would love to be a substance abuse counselor some day. If I can do what these people (clinicians) have done for me, save my life, that would be awesome for me. Really, I want a husband, kids and to do a better job at it than my parents. I will not have children until I believe I am fit. The past will always be a part of my life but I will not let it determine the rest of my life.”
As for Callie’s father, he married an alcoholic in 2009 and is still living in substance abuse addiction in Florida.
When Kevin Jarrell sang, angels listened. The first time I heard his soulful voice was in the early 1980’s when he sang for the Miss Southeastern Louisiana University beauty pageant with his sister Vicki, who was the reigning Queen. The song was The Time of My Life and I remember thinking, “These two are something special.” I would continue to think this for almost twenty-seven years and rarely did I deviate from that thought when it came to Vicki and Kevin. On February 22, 2009, Kevin, this rare and special person, suddenly died from a brain aneurysm. My world was forever altered that day…Kevin was my best friend.
Kevin had the most hilarious sense of humor and insane ability to turn normal or dull life situations into comic brilliance. He could turn a phrase better than anyone and charm both women and men with his true and personable character. Kevin had a personality that was endearing because he truly cared about people and unknowingly invited them to know him. Once they did, love for Kevin flowed naturally. Our friendship was indeed a delightful, and sometimes poignant, journey for us both. We shared the adventures in our adult lives with zest. These included college party days, cruising the streets, sharing life in the workplace…and as out of work roommates in our early twenties, heartache over bad relationships and bad life situations, joy in life’s successes, and sickness. We were blessed with many days in the sun, and nights under the moon, as healthy, vibrant people living and loving life. Some would say we had the greatest of runs because nothing kept us from living our brand of life. We were truly “chosen” brothers.
Kevin was the sole person, ever, that I would share the most intimate details of life with and he did the same with me. There were many serious moments in recent years that sent our friendship into maturity overdrive. We held our own though and never failed to lift the other when necessary by saying something like, “Snap out of it boo!” or, “You can do this.” When my mother became very ill and began to decline a few years ago, Kevin kept me going by reminding me that it was just another tough day and tomorrow would be better. He was right. I have made it through many tough days by recalling those words of advice, and am still making it through those days by listening to the many words of encouragement Kevin left with me. You see, it was that kind of loyal and caring friend that Kevin was to me. He was not just there for the fun, he came back for the hard times and we always knew we had each other. I swear, never did I stop to think his life would end so abruptly and mine become so empty in his absence. I can still hear his advice when I was thinking of taking the position with Truth 180° and him telling me, “D if anyone can do it, you can.” He thought I was strong and ready for anything but I was not ready to grow into a new life without my best friend.
When tragedy strikes, it hits with a force that renders you helpless, devastated, sad, angry, or just flat out hopeless. Tragedy is personal even when it similarly strikes a number of people. Moreover, people react differently to a tragic event with no two people reacting in the same manner. What is tragedy? An event that causes great loss and an event that alters the world significantly for those involved in that loss.
Kevin’s life was meaningful, and his death tragic, and both have changed me as a person. It has taken over a year to be able to speak about him freely and know that by sharing with others will allow me to survive his loss and retain the love and friendship that his memory still holds. It is critical that we share the substance of our lives with one another in order to grow, renew, and understand the process and elements of love, of grief. Learning to survive tragedy without losing the memory of what you have lost seems to be an insurmountable process. However, it is not. That which you have loved and lost never leaves your heart.
For the past year, I have continued my community work with new vigor devoting more time to only projects, which make sense to my life’s mission of providing help to others. I also spend more quality time with family and close friends. I am writing this piece to share Kevin with you and to say goodbye to my dearest friend. I will always think of Kevin when someone says, “Hey baby doll,” or, “I am going to the game (Saints)!” I will always remember him putting his arm around my shoulders when I needed reassurance, and will never forget the many times he stood firm for me when others did not.
But, mostly, I thank God for giving me Kev’s love, laughter, and friendship for those many years. I will always, always, recall his smiling face in memory until the day we reunite in heaven. Kevin fully understood my faith in Christ, my Lord and Savior. The only real tribute I can give him is to share my deepest belief. The following passage is among many from the Bible that have helped me begin to heal and renew over this past year. I share it with everyone in honor of my best friend, Kevin Jarrell.
But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Did you know that human beings have a unique mission, or purpose, in life? It really is true. Philosophers, theologians, poets, and perhaps others may argue this statement to justify their own point of view. However, I believe that each individual does have purpose, or something important to offer society. Each person defines his or her mission through life experience, selfless exploration, deep spiritual reflection, or some other avenue of understanding.
I also believe that all individuals have the ability to inspire other individuals, groups, or even communities at large. How? By quietly looking into the community and finding ways to provide help to others. Think about it. Every action that effects change is borne from some sort of societal need. Once this need is identified, the only action left is to develop your plan of attack; then execute your plan of action. It really is that simple. However, it must never be forgotten that one must act from a place in their being that is selfless or altruistic in order for the plan to be executed in a successful and inspirational manner. This last part is often not as simple. Humans may tend to operate out of ego, or grandiosity forgetting that true inspiration never springs from the negative side of our beings.
January 2010 marked my forty-eighth birth date. In my life I have been granted a better education than that of my parents, been blessed with an immediate family that bears unconditional love, and been taught by my parents and mentors to always extend help to someone in need, no matter the nature of their plight. I have also been that someone in need and the recipient of help at critical points in my life. Because of these experiences, my life has purpose and a personal mission was developed and is being fine-tuned with each new day.
In my life I have danced, laughed, cried, fallen out of grace, and been filled with joy at various parts of the journey. I have also been philosophically changed by meaningless hatred from people filled with ignorance toward others…and then been spiritually altered by the love of people whose hearts were broken in tragedy, yet they still gave more to life than they received. I have stood and prayed at the bedside of family members leaving this world and have planted my feet by the caskets of friends who died much too young, including the tragic loss of my best friend in 2009. All of these events have moved my spirit to action. In my life, I have not mastered my mission but have learned that it is vital to a meaningful existence.
Each day I remind myself of this mission, which is, without doubt, to be of service to someone in need. For example, as a development professional working with the substance abuse agency, Truth 180°, it is my purpose to spread the mission of this agency to the community. In turn, community relationships will be developed and nurtured, which will assist in turning around the lives of agency clients lost in substance abuse and addiction.
2010 is a new year, a new decade for all of us. Thus far, we have witnessed destructive winter storms, political unrest worldwide, a devastating earthquake in Haiti, and enormous global economic challenges. Plenty of societal needs lay in front of each individual, waiting to be realized and conquered. Challenge yourself to explore your purpose in life and begin to develop your personal mission. As you accept and employ this mission, it will become blatantly apparent to you and your community that you can effect social change and inspire others.
SCRIPTURE
But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
Luke 12:31
OBSERVATION Leading up to this scripture, Jesus knew the hearts of His disciples were being cluttered or distracted with the things of this world. The disciples began to worry or be pulled apart from what really matters in life. Jesus used this opportunity to teach the disciples what matters most. If our hearts are united to fear Him (Psalm 86:11), then God’s provision in every area of our lives will follow.
APPLICATION Everyday, I am faced with challenges similar to what the disciples were faced with. I can worry and become preoccupied with meeting my own needs or I can place my trust in the Father to entirely meet my needs. I choose to trust God and seek Him first. I realize this is not a one-time decision that lasts for life, but it is a daily decision that becomes a lifestyle of choosing to seek Him first. If my heart is centered on Christ and fully trusting Him, not only will my needs be met, but more importantly, I will be choosing what matters most. Therefore, I choose to seek Him first everyday and not allow my heart to be divided or distracted from my Heavenly Father who loves me and will provide all of my needs.
PRAYER Lord, I pray that I maintain a heart united to seeking the Kingdom of God and to desire You more than the things in this life. I choose to keep my heart centered on You and Your Kingdom everyday. I pray that I will choose what matters most everyday of my life. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness towards me. Amen!
Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Did you know that human beings have a unique mission, or purpose, in life? It really is true. Philosophers, theologians, poets, and perhaps others may argue this statement to justify their own point of view. However, I believe that each individual does have purpose, or something important to offer society. Each person defines his or her mission through life experience, selfless exploration, deep spiritual reflection, or some other avenue of understanding.
