Nip It In the Bud

Never give up; you never know until you try.

You notice a slight weight gain. Nip it in the bud. Weeds pop up in your garden. Nip them in the bud. You and your mate (parent, child, family member, coworker, friend, neighbor) experience a conflict . . . you get the idea. It's easier to halt something early on than to stop it once it has gained momentum. That's true of positive things and of negative things.

I've written before about "good things" versus "God things," and I still hold to the opinion that just because something is good doesn't mean I should be engaged in it. Even if it's a "good thing," if it isn't a "God thing," meaning I know God wants me to participate, then I shouldn't be involved. It may be hard, but I need to nip it in the bud. Of course, it goes without saying that a bad thing should be promptly stopped. Fat cells only get bigger if I don't actively work to shrink them. Weeds take over the garden if not treated with herbicide and/or physical removal. Relationships deteriorate if I don't address issues head-on.

So, what do you need to nip in the bud? I urge you to do it now, before the job gets even harder!

Unpredictability

Never give up; you never know until you try.

Tuesday, August 23, brought several surprises to me. A stranger at my door asked me a question completely out of left field, and I experienced the earthquake that literally rocked the east coast for miles.

I’ve heard of tornado damage being eerie in its unpredictability, and I’ve seen some incredible pictures—the wind levels one house and seems to jump over the next-door neighbor; it drives a piece of straw into a tree as a carpenter drives a nail into a piece of lumber; it gently deposits a baby, still in its car seat, safely into a tree, as if laying him into his mother’s arms.

I experienced the same type of thing in the aftermath of the quake. In my home office, I discovered that a couple small tables had moved across the floor from their original positions, yet porcelain and glass collectibles hadn’t budged.

We plan and go about our lives, acting as if we’re in control, but the control is an illusion. We don’t know what will happen to us in the next minute—we may not even be breathing the next minute. We may experience a severe natural event and come through unscathed, or we may lose everything.

I was reminded Tuesday that only God knows what will happen, whether 5 minutes or 5 years from now. That’s comforting when I feel “down” about something, be it financial uncertainty or unwanted singlehood. Tomorrow could be the day that everything turns around. Many unwanted events have caught me off guard, and many things which I’ll always cherish have done so, as well. You just never know.

Formula for Success

Never give up; you never know until you try.

Legendary professional athlete Babe Didrikson Zaharias is quoted as saying, “The formula for success is simple: practice and concentration then more practice and more concentration.”

Any thoughts, anyone?

We Have To See the Value for Ourselves

Never give up; you never know until you try.

I’m happy to report that after looking under every rock around, I’ve found a job. Unfortunately, it’s another part-time endeavor, but at least I’m moving in a positive direction again. I’m even doing something I enjoy! I’m tutoring students who never finished high school and are working toward their GED’s. I’m still in the training program, “shadowing” in various classrooms, but I should be out of training soon.

I’ve already concluded a few things. One thing is that students must see the value of obtaining a GED, or they won’t stick with the program. It can be tough, as anyone who has attended high school will attest. Add to the tough curriculum the fact that many GED hopefuls haven’t been in a classroom in a long time, and you start to understand how brave someone is to undertake such a challenge.

Of course, I would argue that it’s even more challenging finding a decent job without at least a high school diploma or equivalent. That’s one of the biggest reasons students find themselves in GED classes—being sick of years of low-paying jobs.

The youngest students haven’t lived through years and years of bad jobs, and I think maybe that’s why some of them seem to be so indifferent about the whole thing. With the bravado of youth, some seem to think they have plenty of time, that they’ll be the exception to the rule and actually land a great job without a high school education.

That might be the hardest part for me—dealing with that type of student. Of course I’ll try to encourage those who seem to not care, but I’ll have to remind myself that they’ve got to see the value for themselves, to want it for themselves.

After all, everything in life is that way. We have to want something for ourselves or we won’t stick with the process of attaining it. Losing weight, getting more education, whatever—it has to be something we want. We won’t stick with it if our parents, our children, our “significant others” talk us into it.

I’ve been thinking of how many times friends or family have stood by, waiting patiently while all of us have slooowly come to the place of seeing value in something they knew all along we needed to be doing. How many times has God stood by, waiting patiently while we slooowly came to the place of seeing value in spending time with Him, learning about Him?

And so, I’ve made a New Year’s Resolution of sorts. It is, after all, a new school year; right? My resolution is to examine myself and to ask God to reveal to me anything (or anyone) I have undervalued and to help me see the true value.

Repeat After Me: I Refuse to . . .

Never give up; you never know until you try.

I’ve covered what I’m about to say before, but recent conversations I’ve had and conversations I’ve overheard have convinced me that it bears repeating.

Be yourself. Don’t try to be someone else, or even who (or what) you think someone else wants you to be.

Refuse to compromise your self.

Refuse to give up your self.

Refuse to give up on yourself.

Ask anyone who has done any of the 3 aforementioned things, and she will tell you in no uncertain terms that doing so was the biggest mistake she ever made, and she will beg you to avoid making the same mistake.