Author: Tim

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I’m In Over My Head (But This Time it’s on Purpose)

You gotta have fun at work, man. I know not every job is amazing, but it’s the people that make all the difference. You often spend more of your waking hours with your coworkers than you do with your own family. Might as well try to have some fun in the process, right?

It’s been awhile since I had this kind of fun at work, but back when I worked as a lifeguard, we’d spend the morning cleaning the pools, swimming laps, practicing rescue techniques, doing chemical treatments, straightening up chairs, mowing the grass, doing preventative maintenance, etc., and then we’d open the pool in the afternoons. But sometimes…we’d just plain goof off.

Right around that time, disposable underwater cameras hit the market. I think I grabbed one or two each year I worked as a lifeguard, and we usually came up with some wacky stuff. Pictures started out pretty generic and got more creative or complex over time. At first they’d just have one or two people in them, doing a stupid pose in shallow water.

Then we got more ambitious and brought in more people or prepared more elaborate setups. In the course of doing do, we learned a few things. We learned the best pictures came when the photographer didn’t let their own bubbles get in front of the camera. We learned the more people you were trying to pose, the trickier it became to get them all into position at the desired time. Some people couldn’t hold their breath very long, other people took such a huge breath that they’d start floating to the surface before the picture got snapped. We had two different pools, and we normally did pictures in whichever one had the better water clarity. If that happened to be the deep pool, we also learned it was tricky to get everyone all the way to the bottom and have them stay there for long.

I’m not suggesting you organize a pool party with your coworkers (I mean, unless you want to). I’m saying as long as you’re getting your work done, try to have a little fun in the process. Morale counts for a lot. The person you’re working with is probably not going to become your best friend, but if you can improve things from “bristling at the sight of them” to “getting along with them” or “laughing along with them,” your work day is going to go a lot better. Similarly, imagine how much better things would be if you can graduate from “counting down the days until retirement” to “eh, it’s not so bad” or better yet “yeah, parts of the job aren’t great, but the people make it alright overall.” Anticipating the drudgery of work will suck the life out of you. The whole equation changes when your workplace isn’t a place you dread.

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Happy 250th Birthday to the Good Ol’ US of A!

On Saturday we’ll celebrate America’s 250th birthday! I’m sure you’ve heard it, but let’s take time to recognize that we live in a pretty great place that’s the envy of the world, and it’s okay to spend some time celebrating this great nation.

I got a little curious about how old other countries are, and where the U.S. falls in that list. Without sounding too much like a book report, it turns out the average age of countries in the world is a bit under 160 years. If we listed all of the UN’s 193 countries by age, the U.S., surprisingly, is older than 170 of them.

Sadly, the percentage of folks who are proud to be Americans has been on the decline lately. While I’d attribute that to a variety of things, I think it’s time for a little reminder about some of the things that help make America special.

While there’s no single thing that sets the U.S.’s style of government apart from all others, there is a very important combination that helps distinguish it from others.

  • The U.S. Constitution (1789) is the world’s oldest written national constitution still in force. Many older countries have rewritten their constitution multiple times.
  • The U.S. has a more rigid separation of government branches than most nations, providing more stringent checks and balances on any one branch’s power.
  • We’ve got a strong Federal system in addition to independent State governments. The Federal Government cannot simply abolish or overrule certain aspects of State Governments. States have their own constitutions, legislatures, and laws that vary across state borders.
  • It’s hard to amend our constitution. There has to be very broad agreement to pass an amendment, (two-thirds of both houses of Congress or a convention called by two-thirds of the states, and ratification by three-fourths of the states). In addition to the 10 amendments in the Bill of Rights, there have only been 17 other constitutional amendments since the Constitution was written.

This style of governance has proven flexible enough for the country to survive numerous peaceful transitions of power, a civil war, multiple government overhauls, various government shutdowns, natural disasters, two World Wars, a decades-long Cold War, and a host of smaller crises. The government is intentionally slow and demands broad agreement to take any action, preventing an erratic establishment of laws. So while it can move frustratingly slow, that’s part of the key to its flexibility and success.

What about the way this translates to the lives of everyday people?

We’re a Capitalist society. That means when it comes to earning money, you’re free to either work for an already-established business (the route most people take), or strike out on your own to provide goods or services you believe others will pay for (if you’ve got a good idea, have the means to do some prototyping, and are willing to bet on yourself, you have a potential pathway to building a successful business). The market is not forgiving or kind, but it leads to businesses that can adapt and provide things people are truly willing to part with their money for.

Obviously, we’re not perfect. It’s very expensive to buy or rent a place to live here. Political gridlock is at an all-time high while approval for politicians is at an all-time low. People believe their intense anger justifies the harming of other people or gives them permission to infringe on others’ rights. Any time you have people with diverse schools of thought, you’re going to have disagreement, and the scope, manner, and intensity of that discord manifests itself in different ways. We’re still the envy of the world. Other countries and other people want what we have. It’s very easy these days to find Americans who are dissatisfied with their nation, but you’ll notice it’s not so terrible for them that other countries become more appealing to move to.

We’re moving into a period in history where there are new challenges, new threats, and different types of instability in a multipolar world. It’s no longer the US vs. the Soviet Union; it’s varieties of alliances and “sometimes” partnerships that make governing more difficult and complex. That’s probably something that’s not going to get any simpler anytime soon.

In the meantime, let’s be grateful for the blessings we enjoy here in the U.S. We have clean, potable water in every zip code in the country. Americans have an extremely low chance of dying from starvation. Very high percentages of the population have access to hospitals, emergency services, the internet, cell phone service, reliable food sources, ranch dressing, and Amazon/Walmart delivery. It’s not like that in many places in the world.

We’re not perfect as a nation, but we’re blessed to live here. As we move beyond 250 years as a nation, let’s be thankful for each other, the freedoms and privileges we enjoy, and the fact that we get to argue about ideas rather than necessities. Let’s be tolerant of ideas we don’t always agree with, but not manufactured or manipulative rage. It’s okay to disagree, but it’s not okay to belittle the people who hold to principles differing from yours. Let’s return to having a civil discourse, criticizing ideas instead of people, intolerance of prejudice (sexism, classism, racism of all types, ageism, etc.), and working hard not only to get ahead, but to make your community and country better. If you’re American, the American flag should be something you can be proud of and be united behind. “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Happy birthday USA, and thanks for everything so far!

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It’s Not the Florida Keys…it’s the Delaware Keys!

When I was in high school I worked a few summers as a lifeguard at a Christian conference center in eastern Pennsylvania. Besides working at the pools, one of the things lifeguards at this place did was guide groups of guests in canoes down a few-mile stretch of a nearby river.

Whenever I went on a canoe run, I traveled light. No room key, no wallet, nothing I wasn’t prepared to go into the water with. Swim trunks, ratty sneakers, life jacket, rescue tube, paddle, and little medical fanny pack. A lot of people going on these trips seemed to think they would stay dry the whole time. Most people didn’t flip their canoe or fall in the water during a canoe run, but it wasn’t uncommon for it to happen. That’s why when we all gathered around to get ready to start a trip, it was kind of part of my routine to size people up and see what kind of personality they were going to be and if they looked like they were prepared to end up in the water.

On one occasion this dude showed up with an enormous key ring clipped to his belt loop. It’s like he was a cross between a janitor and a prison warden. I have no idea why the guy felt like he needed to bring it along on a canoe trip while he was on vacation. Since it was clipped to his belt loop though, I figured it was probably alright. After all, he must be willing to risk it if he was bringing it canoeing, right?

During the course of each canoe trip, we encountered two or three sets of rapids. When I say “rapids,” I’m not talking about huge whitewater, but areas where the water is turbulent. Sometimes the water was very shallow (less than a foot deep), and other times the water was probably waist deep but moving very swiftly and creating eddies and weird currents behind large rocks. In this case the guy with the key ring and whoever else was in the boat with him managed to flip the canoe in a set of very shallow rapids. It happened far enough in front of me that the pair had recovered and were righting the boat by the time I got there, but the guy started to panic when he realized his key ring was no longer attached.

For the people who know me, “compassion” is probably not in the top 10 traits they’d use to describe me, but I can assure you that I was even worse as a teenager. My job was to get these people safely from the start of the canoe run to the end of it. There were canoes from our group downstream who were getting further and further away from us at this point, and I was responsible for their safety, too, so I had to get moving. I rather callously urged the soaked paddlers into their boat so they could get moving again. As they begrudgingly got back in and set off again, it occurred to me that a heavy set of keys like that was probably going to sink pretty fast and not get pushed real far downstream on a rocky bottom. Since I had seen where they tipped over, I had a pretty good idea of where to look. As they paddled away, I took a slower pace, scanning the area for the keys. Yep, there they were. I scooped them up and I think I attached them to the rescue tube laying at the bottom of my boat.

I didn’t let the guy know right away, either. I waited until we were past all the spots where boats were likeliest to flip, then pulled up next to their boat and handed them over. He was hugely relieved, but he probably spent a good 20-30 minutes thinking he’d permanently lost his keys. (I would probably do it a little differently if I were going to do it again.)

Sometimes you’re going to be in a position that allows you to use your experience or knowledge to easily help someone who’s a little out of their depth. The expertise you bring can be such an easy thing to invest, but it can make a huge difference for someone who’s not operating in their natural element. Keep an eye out for the folks you can lend a hand to without even exerting much effort. You might be on the other end of that transaction sometime.

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Your Best is Your Best, Regardless of Scope

Every now and then God will call somebody to do extraordinary things and change the way people think. Many of these people end up being giants of the faith. Charles Spurgeon. Billy Graham. D.L. Moody. Jim Elliott. C.S. Lewis. Joni Eareckson Tada. Some live long, full lives of service, others endure great misfortune that God uses for His glory. God uses all of them for His purposes.

But what about us “normal” people? What about those of us who aren’t going to fill a stadium or hold a revival, or be overseas missionaries?

I’ve got two things to offer for those folks.

The first is that just because you don’t feel like you have a grand purpose right now, that doesn’t mean you never will. Ask for a way you can use your life and your talents to honor the Lord. If you haven’t found a calling and you want one, you should ask for one. Ask every time you pray. Pray for it all the time. Keep praying long enough, and He’ll show you what to do. (Just don’t be surprised when it’s something bigger than you expected, and once that happens don’t be put off by it.)

The second is that even though we can’t all be Billy Grahams, we can be faithful to what God’s asked of us. He asks different things of different people, and somebody else could very well have been called to do something cooler than what you’ve been asked to do. We rarely know ahead of time God’s reasons for doling out tasks the way He does. Some things are little, others are big. The important thing is that when God asks something from you, you endeavor to give Him your best and follow through on it, even if you don’t understand why He would ask it of you.

It’s also important to keep in mind that your role may not be confined to a single function. Your calling could involve one big thing, lots of little things, or something in between. Sometimes the thing God wants from you is surprisingly ordinary. Just show yourself to be reliable. If you can’t be faithful with little things, how can you be trusted with big things? Love God, be faithful, and show love to others, in that order.

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Something To Help Keep Your Head Above Water

I’ve done a lot of extreme/adventure sports in my life, and I’ve purchased thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment over the course of my life. One thing I’ve never had to purchase, but never turned down when offered, is a life jacket.

It’s one of those things you forget is there until you need it. You might even forget what it’s supposed to do until it does it. During my outings I’ve been dumped out of a raft in whitewater, I’ve bailed out of a capsized kayak as I approached a waterfall, I’ve crashed dozens of times while trying to do a barrel roll on a kneeboard, I’ve crashed a canoe in the middle of a set of rapids so I could stop in a hurry to help someone, and once I was even trapped underwater with a tough choice while my boss was truly in a life-threatening scenario mere feet away.

In all of those situations, the lifejacket I was wearing pulled me toward, or kept me at, the surface. Even when I got thrashed around underwater and didn’t know which way was up, the life jacket got me moving in the right direction. As Christians, we need something in our spiritual lives that helps guide us and bring us in the right direction. Practically speaking, it’s a combination of reading the bible consistently, praying regularly, and listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit. When you’re temporarily disoriented because of the craziness going on around you, those things start pulling you toward the way you’re supposed to go.

One more lifejacket story. In college during the long winter months, it wasn’t practical to go kayaking, so our “Paddle Sports” club held pool sessions twice a week. For those of us who went regularly, there were only so many things you could do in a pool with a kayak before you got bored. In our boredom, a few of us started tossing a diving brick (it was a hard rubber brick that weighed probably 10 pounds or so) into the deepest part of the pool and dove for it. That got boring too, so I put on a life jacket and tried to dive down to get it. The first time I made it a decent portion of the way down, but I had to kick and flail pretty hard to make progress and I didn’t quite get deep enough to get the brick. When I stopped flailing and just relaxed, the life jacket carried me gently but persistently to the surface. It was a neat contrast to be thrashing all your limbs so hard to go one way, then go completely passive and travel so easily to the surface. I was able to dive down to the bottom of the 12 and a half-foot pool and grab the brick, then float gently back to the surface, buoyed by the jacket. This, too, is like the Holy Spirit working in a life that pursues God. Even if you start going the wrong direction, you won’t be confused about it being the wrong way.

And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.” – Isaiah 30:21

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Early June Iran Update – What’s Going On?

Did you ever see a couple that was fighting about something, but rather than address it head on, they just kind of ignored the issue and left the ball in the other’s court to resolve? Maybe they even made the issue a little worse to increase the pressure on the other partner? That’s sort of what’s going on with Iran.

Americans and Iranians don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. We killed a lot of their leaders and destroyed a lot of their stuff, so it makes perfect sense that they’re not going to be very agreeable to the terms we want them to accept. On the other hand, the Iranian regime is known to be into some pretty bad stuff. They’ve killed Americans. They’ve heavily sponsored terrorist groups. They’ve killed lots of their own people for protesting. I’m going to treat the “who’s right and who’s wrong” aspect of this whole thing as outside the scope of the post, and instead focus on where we are right now.

Going back to the fighting couple, if there’s no clear willingness to move on, outside forces are going to be the thing incentivizing somebody to make the first move. If they’re fighting about an upcoming party, for example, the strategy of not addressing the issue will only work for so long before one of the two gives in and says “okay, we need to make a decision here.” In this case, the one who isn’t in a hurry about the decision probably has a little bit of an advantage because the one trying to solve the problem is probably more anxious about getting it figured out. As a result, the one who’s not in a hurry can have a bit of an upper hand because time is working against the other one.

That’s what’s going on here. Both sides are trying to outlast the other one. They’ll even try to ratchet up the pressure in other areas to make the other side cave first.

Iran’s looking at the U.S. saying “Americans hate high oil prices. All we have to do is incite enough fear and the oil prices will stay high. Maybe we can even draw down their oil reserves. If we can do that, it’s just a matter of time until Trump caves because he knows he’s got mid-terms coming up.” It’s a solid strategy, and is why you’ll see Iran intentionally launch drones or missiles at ships or U.S. installations in the region. A couple of things working against this strategy is that even though U.S. gas prices are elevated much more than they were prior to this military engagement, it is the United States’ ability to export oil that’s keeping its domestic price from going even higher. (It’s not a perfect buffer, but it’s helping.) Additionally, while this would normally play havoc with the stock market, the past decade or so has been so rife with international tension (the word “unprecedented” has been used so much it’s lost its punch) that Wall Street is kind of shrugging this off and expecting things to eventually work out. Last week we set all-time records for the Dow and S&P 500.

The U.S., on the other hand, is looking at Iran and wondering “why haven’t they caved by now?” I don’t know what Trump and his advisors were actually expecting, but they probably thought Iran would have thrown in the towel already. Hats off to the Iranians…they’re tough negotiators. Here’s the tricky part. Both sides want to make it look like they’re willing to consider a deal, but the Americans unquestionably have the upper hand. Just like in poker, however, it’s possible to have a winning hand and still lose if your opponent can outplay you. At this point the actual “cards” held are not what’s driving progress, gamesmanship is. Iran knows it can only last a little while longer before having to agree to a deal on America’s terms. What its leaders are doing is kind of a pattern of appearing willing to deal, but then finding some excuse to lash out and stall. They’re hoping that the President and his advisors get so tired of this uncertainty that they’ll agree to something less than their full list of terms for the sake of saying we got SOME kind of deal to campaign on.

President Trump appears willing to wait them out. Think of the Iranians like an angry child; while they throw tantrums, Trump just needs to be gently persistent, knowing he’s getting closer and closer to the outcome he wants. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the smashed Iranian Government still isn’t fully functioning. The new Ayatollah, if he’s alive and has the use of his faculties, has to prove to the different Iranian groups struggling for power that’s he’s alive and in charge. For anybody over there who’s pushing for peace, there’s probably someone else who’s a hardliner trying to sabotage that peace, and will try to keep drone and missile strikes going. Like the parent of that flipped-out child, we have to be willing to absorb a few hits from them if we think they’re close to giving in. (It would be a much different story if we thought they had plenty of fight in them.)

In the meantime, what’s NOT helpful is all the pundits on TV trying to tell the President how to do his job. My guess is that the Iranians point to this coverage and say “look, even your own media is saying you should give up!” This adds pressure on our own government to rush to a sub-optimal deal. It would be great if news organizations stuck to reporting facts and context and kept their opinions to themselves. Twenty-four hours a day is a lot of air time to fill, and when you don’t have enough material, you fill in the gaps with stuff that’s maybe not so factual. Then people think that because a news organization broadcast it, it must be true (or it’s the majority opinion). Maybe news channels don’t need to operate around the clock.

All that to say, sit tight. Something will happen soon. Senate and Congressional primaries are happening pretty often now, so gas prices and inflation are about to become frequently mentioned issues. Iran’s economy is on the brink and basic utilities (water and electricity) are about to become even more important in the summer and can’t afford to be down for long. The pressure on both sides to make something happen is starting to build. We’ll have some kind of breakthrough soon.

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It’s Not a BAD Addiction, But it’s Still an Addiction

Every generation of college students has something that, looking back, tops the list of “Things We Wasted Time On.” For the guys of my era, the number one thing would probably be playing “Goldeneye.”

Goldeneye, for those who aren’t familiar, was a video game based on the James Bond movie of the same name. By today’s standards, the game is archaic and unrealistic, but back then it was pretty cutting edge and exciting (“It’s in 3D, man!”). It used the N64 gaming console, which enabled 3D motion rather than the Super Mario-era 2D setup, along with a first-person point of view. While the missions themselves were cool and followed scenes from the movie, the REALLY popular thing about the game was the multiplayer mode. You could have up to four players join in an every-man-for-himself battle royale where you could pick the setting, the weapons, and the limits. For whatever reason, this video game was cool enough for us to waste the better part of entire days.

There were a whole bunch of us who were into the game, but only one guy, Tom, owned it. We consistently packed into his dorm room. The two guys who lived there arranged their room to somehow squeeze a loveseat in the middle so they could accommodate players more comfortably. Tom had a huge TV (pre-flat screen, so it was huge in all three dimensions), the N64 console, and a whole bunch of the N64’s weird controllers. There were constantly multiplayer battles and tournaments going on in that room. I don’t know how the guys who lived there got any classwork or studying done. When both guys were at class or gone for the weekend and their room was locked, people would actually break into their room to play Goldeneye.

For awhile there, this game took over our lives. It’s all we could think about doing in our spare time. Sometimes classes got in the way of our Goldeneye time, so they had to be skipped. (You’ve got to have your priorities straight, right?) The TV was on in that room for pretty much the entire weekend, every weekend. Diet and hygiene suffered, and I imagine grades did, too.

Eventually the guys living in the room figured out they had to impose some restrictions on things if they were going to maintain their sanity. “Office hours” were imposed, but those quickly got violated and the boundary lines got blurred. Then Tom secured the game cartridge in his locked drawer, but he either wanted to play single player or someone always managed to talk him into taking it back out. What eventually worked was the two guys taking the “submarine missile launch protocol” approach. They took separate key components (like the cartridge and the console’s power cord) and locked them in their respective drawers. That way, both guys had to consent to playing before they got everything back out and anyone was able to play again.

Can you imagine being so hooked on something that you can’t cope with the idea of going a day or two without it? Maybe you know exactly what this is like. Maybe you’re struggling with cutting back on or cutting off something you know you need to get away from. You’ve maybe even given it a try, but found it’s too difficult to escape its orbit for very long.

As much as you don’t want to hear it, your fastest way to make progress is probably to ask for some help with your struggle. Someone else is able to see things you can’t, be strong when you’re not, and provide a helpful, steady hand when your resolve is all over the place. Remove yourself from the areas of temptation you’re struggling with, and intentionally impose obstacles that will make it more difficult to misuse the thing you’re thinking about.

(By the way, toward the end of college as we all explored different interests and moved out of the dorms, the Goldeneye craze died out. Sometime before we all graduated I went to Tom and offered to buy it from him. He sold me everything but the Goldeneye game itself, but I got its sister game, Perfect Dark (which had some of the same levels), and I still have it more than 20 years later. Every now and then I pull it out of mothballs and play for nostalgia’s sake.)

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A Special Note of Thanks

This week marks a special milestone in my personal life.

Twenty years ago this week, my wife and I got married.

To my wife: thank you for being the wonderful, Godly woman you are…for dealing constantly with our three zany kids in all their crazy, for supporting me through the ups and downs we’ve faced, and for allowing me the decades-long habit of having multiple nights a week that are dedicated to school, blogging, or other projects.

Thank you for your love and respect this whole time.

Thank you for your honesty and integrity.

Thanks for taking care of yourself and still looking good 20 years later. 😉

Thank you for more laughs than tears.

Thanks for stepping into the growth opportunities God’s placed before you.

Thanks for holding on during this wild ride as we see what unknowns God takes us into.

Thank you and I love you!

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Don’t Wash the Dishes and Your Face With the Same Cloth

Did you ever recognize something was wrong, but you compared it to the wrong standard? Trying to make it right using something that’s wrong isn’t going to work out so well.

One springtime years ago my wife and I took our three young kids to visit my Mom and Dad in the house where I grew up. Compared to where we lived with our kids at the time, Mom and Dad’s backyard was huge. They also lived way out in the country, miles from the nearest stoplight, so the wide open space and curvy back roads were an adventure for my kids.

All the old roads and routes came back to my memory. Any time we headed out to go somewhere I had to sort through old memories of how the roads connected. One day we loaded everybody up to head somewhere, and I decided on the route we’d take.

Wherever we were going, we took a road that passed right through the middle of a pig farm. It was a spot I’d passed through countless times on my way to or from school, football games, or friends’ houses. I even got pulled over by a cop there once. (I was speeding, but got away with a warning.) As you might imagine, pig farms don’t smell so good in the spring. The smell began percolating into our minivan’s interior, and the kids all started exclaiming “eeeewww!”

Deciding to take action, my younger daughter pressed the button to roll down the window, letting in the high-volume unadulterated stink in all its glory. With angry and surprised shrieks coming from the back, I hit the button to close her window again and we hurried out of the area. Confused about why she would do that, we asked what she was trying to do. In her mind, opening the window was going to blow the bad smell out. I guess it makes sense if you think of it that way, but she didn’t realize the air outside was even worse than what we were already dealing with. Though she meant to get rid of the smell faster, all it did was let in a whole lot more.

Remember in this life that even when it’s easy to be distracted about what’s important or what’s true, there’s only one real standard. It’s easy to begin comparing yourself to others. “I’m not anywhere near as bad as those nutjobs on TV.” That might be true, but Jesus is your standard, not the nutjobs. If you start focusing on the wrong standard, you’re going to lose sight of just how much (and how often) you need God’s grace, and that you’re dependent on it every day. It’s important to keep that in perspective. Don’t use really stinky air to make clean air.

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Don’t Judge Others’ Spiritual Callings

Here’s a little spinoff of what we learn about spiritual gifts from the New Testament.

In 1 Corinthians 12, vv 4-6, Paul says There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Later in the chapter Paul goes on to address the people who desired to have the spiritual gift(s) that someone else had, rather than the gifts they themselves had been given. He goes on to write his famous “there are many parts, but one body” text, where he addresses the error of desiring to be a different part (that is, to have a different spiritual gift).

I’d like to present a similar topic in the same light. Think back over your life about some of the Christians you’ve known. Sometimes their Christian walk, or even their entire life, can be summed up or characterized by a simple description. Some have a deep compassion for the poor, while others seem meant to spur others on in encouragement. While some are out on street corners or in auditoriums evangelizing, some people are just trying to hang on long enough for God to untangle the horrible circumstances of their lives. For the people who struggle just to make it through each day, something like having a fiery desire to see justice done seems like an impossibly distant goal, the luxury of someone with time and space to take a deep breath.

Every Christian has a testimony, very few of which are the exact same. Long before we were born, God knew what our lives would look like, and He orchestrated events in our lives to either impose circumstances or tee up choices that would affect our lives in big ways. While some Christians are seemingly on the front lines of ministry, there are many who are fighting for spiritual (or physical) survival. Each one is important and none of them is less valuable than another if it’s God-ordained. If they all stay faithful to the Lord, they all bring Him glory in His timing.

We have to avoid the temptation to judge others in light of the spiritual purpose you’ve been given in your own life. So whether you’re out there engaging with others or you’re just trying to hang on a little bit longer, give God the glory and the praise for the things He’s brought you through and the things He’s yet to do. Your calling is for you, so whatever it is, give Him your best as you live it out.