Destination Inspiration: Don't Be Afraid of Who I Am and What I Believe

Listening is a powerful form of communication, but how many of you really listen? Being an effective listener is a gift so I have taken consideration to work on this weakness. Even though I am engaged in conversation I can admit I don’t always listen. My mind can wonder off for a moment, but in this moment the conversation may have its greatest meaning.

So why is this relevant? I tell you why it is relevant to me. I have a long commute of two hours and forty minutes per day every day. About twenty three hours a week. I have been graced by so many people of kind and caring personalities. I cannot help but believe that this was a plan set out by God. Why there are so many people that just want to talk and I gracefully listen to them. And I know they appreciate that I listen, absorb and sometimes offer up some Godly advice. Yes that’s right Godly advice, but not the advice you may be thinking.

So let me explain a little better. The last year had a profound impact on my life and I mean profound, words really cannot explain nor do it justice. Cancer once again had taken another precious family member of mine. To date it has been four. My grandmother, my father, my step-father and then my mother had succumbed. Three out of the four were below the age of seventy. It is in my opinion, the absolute worst thing to see, but then again that is all I have seen so this not meant to minimize other illness. Each case is different and each has a different set of circumstances. My mother was probably the most difficult case to witness. Her strength and valor were impeccable and unspeakable. My mother is my idol and is a true inspiration to me. While she was sick I shared my blog and my Christian beliefs and she could not have been prouder. Essentially her illness and her death had a positive impact on my life. I chose betterment and not bitterness. I admit after her passing I slipped into a small downward spiral, but as quick as I slipped down I picked myself right back up.

So now back to the Godly advice above. The advice I give is to be grateful and count your daily blessings even opening your eyes in the morning is a mere treasure. We shall not judge others as we have no idea what their circumstances are, they may have a loved one dying. Not to mention if you are going to cast judgments on others then you cast them upon yourself. Lastly I advocate for forgiveness. This is a hard one, but that anger and bitterness in my opinion is a poison to your soul and eventually your body.

It actually astounds me how many people are uncomfortable with the word Jesus. Why is that do you suppose? If you celebrate Easter you celebrate Jesus, if you celebrate Christmas you celebrate Jesus. It is kind of comical that if you believe and go to church for some reason others feel compelled to tell you that they don’t believe in that crap. Why? Perhaps they feel that we are going to preach or perhaps they are living with some regret, guilt and fear. Who knows? Why is it people do not get uncomfortable when Kim Kardashian’s name is mentioned?

One thing I do want to clarify on my behalf is I have no desire to neither preach nor judge others who do not believe. Essentially Jesus was a good man. He healed the sick, helped the weak, did not judge, loved all, and forgave. So If I want to follow in his footsteps so be it. Being a better person and living a better life does make you a born again Christian it makes you a good Christian. People who comment, or who are fearful should perhaps do a little research because it is evident of their ignorance to the bible.

One little interesting fact though that you will find on the internet is 86% of all money donated to the Church is provided to the community. The highest of any registered charity. So to those who think we are brainwashed into giving money so be it. I like to see less fortunate people eat, have warm jackets, used laptops and many other services provided to the less fortunate.

The Church asking for donations is no different than the Canadian Cancer Society asking for donations. So is the Canadian Cancer Society brainwashing you? Maybe into believing that money goes into research, they have a D rating and an enormous amount of monies raised goes into fundraising. The mortality rate for cancer is the same in 2015 as 1956 check that out too. This is evident with my family. As the donations increase so does the fundraising cost at the expense of the research. So I would much rather see 86% of my dollar going to use.

The long and skinny of it is regardless of what your beliefs are they are yours. As far as I know we still live in a Country that allows us to be us. There is no right no wrong we are all human beings so don't be afraid of me because of who I am and what I believe.