Get Off Of The Sidelines

 

 

 

Looking back over 2014 I realize that I have been living life on the sidelines. Even though 2014 started out with gusto. I failed. I was going to do this and yes I was going to do that. I started out dragging life by the nose and running. I slowly lost momentum. I stopped in my own tracks and fell on my face. I became hostage to the health issues. I became hostage to the financial issues. I became stand offish to dating or even the idea of dating. I did not do anything I set out to do. I did not write like I promised myself that I would. I did not do a quarter of what I said I would do. I put myself on the sidelines. I hear it again what a friend of mine said, denial is not delay. I also hear that just because you did not finish does not mean that you cannot finish. I no longer cheered for those who were making power moves and shaking off dead leaves.

I no longer had the momentum to run let alone lace up by tennis shoes. I stood in my own sand box and played with my own toys silently daring anyone to cross the edge. I watched from the sidelines at everyone else making power moves. My mouth moved with honest congratulations but in my heart, I was seething. My eyes celebrated and I had participated in the excitement but in my heart, I was angry. Angry at the fact that I was living opposite of what I wanted, needed or desired.  Oh yes I waited for the right time, it never came. I waited for the right amount of money to magically show up out of the blue, bankrupted. I kept telling myself that I am ok and that I will do it. I kept telling myself that I have the passion and the vision, the dream, lies. I was mentally and emotionally lying to myself. I was saying I can but my actions said I can’t.  I failed myself and those looking up to me from their own sideline. Isn’t it funny how many of us can encourage and motivate others but we cannot do the same for ourselves? But we can. We can be our greatest critic or we can be our own greatest cheerleader.

I failed to grab hold of the fact that some things are not meant for me, that God has His own plan for me and until I lined up to His will, I will fail. I failed to seek out those who are doing the same things that I dream of. Oh I said hello and how are you? I said good job and I am proud of you. I played around with some dots and yet I failed to even connect those dots. Fear will do that to you. Fear will sideline you and have you watching and kicking yourself. Does this sound familiar to you?  Sure it does. You have made your lists and ran the race so fast and hard only to end up on the sidelines with no cheering squad clutching your chest gasping for air. You have looked in the mirror and said to yourself you missed the mark. It is ok to realize that somewhere and somehow you lost it. It is ok to say oops I did it again. Yes it is ok to tell yourself the truth. Here is why.  Nothing is hidden from God and yes all things do work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. There is nothing wrong with making plans and keeping a list unless, you fail to petition God for direction and wisdom. There is nothing wrong with mapping out your course of action and setting the wheels in motion unless, you fail to seek God and His infinite and absolute wisdom. Wisdom will carry you far.

You are not alone in your year in review. You are not sitting on the sidelines all alone, look around. There are many who silently asked themselves what happened. Well here is some sugar for your red kool aid. It is called life and not everything is going to happen according to your plan. Not everyone is going to understand your life’s purpose and not everyone is will to cheer you on. But the one thing you can rest assured in is that you can make it happen with God on your side. You can take baby steps to accomplish all that you set out to do. It only takes tenacity and grit. You have to put your nose to the grind and in doing so you will have to step back from all that has the potential to block your blessings. No dream killers allowed. There is nothing wrong with knowing without a shadow of doubt what works and what does not. You only have to accept who you are and what you stand for. You only have to set boundaries and place limits on yourself and others. Remember when you were in school and you knew that a test was coming?  Preparation. That is the only way you will succeed, with Gods help that is. You can do nothing without the Almighty Gods help. Oh yes you might win some things but you will not win them all. There is only victory in the Lord. I cannot express this enough.

Today take action. Go ahead and review. Go ahead and make those plans and while you are doing so, seek God. Seek Him in spirit and in truth. Be honest with Him because He already knows. As I write this blog, I am telling myself the same thing. I am telling myself I did not miss the mark, I just failed to honestly and fully add that one key ingredient and that is the master plan of God.  His word tells us to lean not on our own understanding but in all of our getting get wisdom. Don’t get me wrong. I am a believer in Gods truth. I pray and seek Him, I still missed it. I study His word and I apply it to my life on a daily basis, I still failed.  Even as I write this blog I am not so sure that I really know what I am doing but the key here is that I am aware of that and that I must do something different. I must be in the game to win the game. Sideline players never win. I must reevaluate the play book and practice. I must cross the line of mediocrity and excuses. I must submit to Gods will completely. The prayer of Jabez comes to my mind. 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NIV) Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

God orders our steps my friends not our sitting. We must be active in doing the things of God. God blesses those who are obedient to Him. God can and will give us the desires of our hearts if we are in line to Him. No journey ever taken was easy. God told Abraham to leave what he has known and go into a land unknown. What?  God told Noah to build an Ark and add everything two by two. Job was tested and lost everything. Abraham, Noah, and Job obeyed and God showed up and showed out. If God can do it for them why can’t he do it for you? He will because that is His desire.

Here are a few things that you can do to get you started:

Pray and give thanks to God for all that He has done for you, give Him praise.

Read your Bible a scripture or a chapter at a time along with motivational books that will help you in your craft.

Take a class on your craft. Polish up.

Clear out the clutter and organize your space. If you don’t have a space where you can do your craft, create one.

Exercise. Take a walk, run or like my son says, go lift some weights if you can.

Get a physical and make sure your health is on a positive track.

Drink 64 ounces of water a day.

Attend events that will give you joy and encouragement.

Find a mentor or an accountability partner. Someone you trust.

Work on your craft daily. Start with 30 minutes and increase as you go along.

And last, get plenty of rest. You must be alert and present.

Go ahead and look back, just don’t stay there. What is in the past is just that, in the past. Nothing back there has anything to do with what is ahead of you. Pick yourself up, dust off your shoulders and press. Press forward and know this, there are great things in you and ahead of you.

Get off of the sidelines. 

Happy New Year 2015