Alphabet Soup during the Holidays

Alphabet Soup during the Holidays

During the holiday break, I treated myself to many servings of spiritual alphabet soup.  The period of Christmas through New Year’s Day remains a deeply personal time of introspection and meditation.  I contemplate the will of God for my life, my primary relationships, progress toward achieving my dreams and goals and future possibilities.  In this entry, I share secret ingredients of divine wisdom that the Holy Spirit shares with me within my many servings of spiritual alphabet soup.

A stands for acceptance.  Each believer faces the challenge of emulating the Lord’s humility and obedience in the garden of Gethsemane.  On the night of His betrayal and the eve of His unjust crucifixion, Jesus prays for grace and strength to accept the will of God.  “Nevertheless, not my will but Thy will be done.”  This time of year affords us another opportunity to rearrange our priorities by discerning and accepting and God’s will for our lives.  Acceptance remains the most critical step.  Moreover, acceptance is not contingent upon my circumstances.  God’s will remains “good, perfect and pleasing” regardless of the surrounding conditions of my life.

C means confidence.  Without belief in God and confidence in self, one cannot accomplish anything meaningful.  Meditation is synonymous with stopping at a gas station.  Quiet reflection upon God’s goodness enables a clearer revelation of talents and gifts that He deposits within you.  Clarity equals confidence to succeed and excel in life.  Self-confidence and egotism are not the same.  The former is divinely inspired and the latter furthers our selfish ambitions and willfulness.

Also, C reminds us to channel our energy toward constructive purposes.  In the rat race of life, we spend inordinate amounts of time chasing the wind.  We waste precious energy on meaningless things.  We pursue the “bigness of small things.”  In contrast, we have the daily privilege of pulling aside from the hustle and bustle of life.  Prayer and meditation assist us in focusing and directing our energies to more significant aspects of life.

“D” stands for discipline.  Past meditation indelibly stamps the word, discipline, upon my mind.  Discipline truly separates the winners from the losers.  As the old adage goes, talent and intelligence are only ten percent of success and excellence.  The remaining ninety percent is sheer discipline.  Many people are surpassed in the game of life by people who are not nearly as gifted and talented as they are.  Discipline explains this phenomenon.  People who lack discipline essentially become the world’s biggest procrastinators.  “Procrastination is the thief of time.”  Many persons do not actualize even a half of their gifts because they lack discipline. 

Repeatedly, I think of many goals that I could have realized by now had I been more disciplined.  I resolve to make each day count.  A sign on the wall in my office reads, “Discipline is remembering what you want.”  Presumably, if you remember what you want, then you will do what is necessary to obtain what you want.  Discipline is the foundation of every successful life.

Endurance is the identical twin of discipline.  The first attribute emerges during long period whereas the second characteristic enables you to thrive in short timeframes.  A woman can lose enough weight to fit into a wedding dress and look good for her bridal photographs.  Can she keep the excess weight off permanently to improve her health and self-acceptance?  Endurance allows you to maintain growth and achievement over the long haul.  Most relationships begin with a bang.  Can a couple retain the fires of passion beyond dating and their honeymoon?  Daily, taking the next right step produces endurance which yields long-range achievements.

Good stewardship of time, money and talents is the underlying theme of this serving of spiritual alphabet soup.  There is no magic in life!  Nothing replaces hard work and the painstaking pursuit of your goals and purposes.