Aspire Inspite of the Muck & Mire

We all have God-given dreams, hopes, aspirations and goals to accomplish. I’d dare to venture that most of us have some form of a hidden ‘desire to aspire’, a cause, or even a business idea rattling around in our head. We just know we could be successful at it. However, we often put our dreams on a back burner; letting it simmer and wait for the correct moment. Often years go-by and before you know it, that forgotten dream becomes dusty; that idea on the back burner simmered to vapors. Perhaps the years crept stealthily past us or we convince ourselves that the idea was just too time intensive. Plans changed and/or excuses piled upon some loose knit logic and we eventually lost enthusiasm. WOW! I feel depressed just writing about it! With that attitude, it’s easy to get discouraged and end up becoming stagnant. If we allow it, the big dreams we held so dear, will settle into the recesses of our brain and grow algae.

As children, my sisters and I use to visit an expansive low marshy bog we affectionately called the Frog Pond. It was at the bottom of a long steep hill. The neighborhood kids called it Indian Hill. We would look forward to each year when we could scamper down Indian Hill and visit the Frog Pond. There we would find treasures of goopy dotted strings of frog eggs, green algae, water skimmers, frogs & toads and a lifetime of rocks to toss into the pond. Sometimes, in our excitement of getting to the other side of the bog, we would choose a more direct route and step into deep, dark oozing mud. Our foot would plummet into the muck and we’d yank it out only to hear a sucking slurp as the bog would attempt to claim our sneaker! We were always able to reclaim them but not without getting dirty!   

As an adult, I have visited that same Frog Pond. I marveled at all the memories that hopped through my head and at how small my adult mind viewed the Frog Pond.

It would serve us well to revisit some ‘old ideas’; relight the burners of those forgotten creative moments. We need to foster that ‘desire to aspire’. God want us to create memories. He gave us imaginations, creative minds and an awesome recall mechanism. He wants to take us higher than we can ever imagine. I have seen many times when people miss out on God's best simply because they give up too soon. They don't realize how close they are to their victory. 

We outgrew the old neighborhood, the stagnant Frog Pond and Indian Hill. It’s a wonder we didn’t get sick from that old pond. Science tells us that our human mind thrives on creativity. In fact, setting aside our hopes and aspirations tends to deaden us and adds to a sickly spirit. We need a cause, a reason! Don’t get mired in the goop of life! KEEP MOVIN’ ……or you’ll grow algae! It might not be external. That's probably a good thing!!!! Don't let that be you today! Revisit those ideas! Don't give up just because things seem difficult. You've invested so much, and you never know, just a few more days of believing, another few weeks of doing the right thing, another few months of staying in faith, and you could see that situation turn around. There’s a good chance you too will lose a shoe as you step into the muck of life. Remember, God is on your side! Keep standing and keep believing because you are closer than you think to fulfill every good desire He's placed inside of you! 

"So let's NOT allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop (or, in a kids eyes, catch a few frogs) if we don't give up, or quit"
(Galatians 6:9, The Message). ~Pray!