Nothing says Happy Easter like a hat parade!
You can't have Easter without springtime - and nothing says Springtime like nature!
I never really knew what it meant for a prayer 'to be answered.' I think in my childhood mind I heard this and envisioned whatever it was the person was praying for to somehow just magically appear. Some people had to pray a lot longer than others to have their prayers answered. And still others never would.
To me, it seemed similar to the lottery. You buy your ticket(s) - say your prayer(s) - and hope that you'll be the winner. And if you 'won' - if your prayer was answered it would be in a big, profound, obvious(ly visible) way.
Yeah, that's never happened to me. So it's no wonder I didn't think any of my prayers were answered. Or, more importantly, I just thought prayers being answered was akin to the luck of the draw.
This is before I found coaching.
My mind up to this point had been trained to only register 'big' things, blindly overlooking the rest.
I recall my older sister once responding to my questioning of what might be my blind-spots (in life). She said I often overlooked opportunities right in front of me. Fast forward five years later, I can clearly see that these opportunities that I overlooked right in front of me weren't 'big' enough to be picked up on my radar at the time.
It is overtime, with life and experience, that our radar and perspective changes. It is with coaching that this happens much quicker and by our choosing, rather than leaving it up to chance or fate.
So how does this relate to answered prayers? Because 'to see' is a choice. And I'm not literally talking about the cones and rods and light dynamics of eyes that make vision possible.
I'm talking about one's ability, or rather willingness, to perceive and be aware.
When I started learning about coaching and then working with my own coach, I greatly increased my awareness - across the board. Awareness of my thoughts, feelings, perspectives, beliefs, judgements.
It was with this heightened observation that I was able to understand information that, as a child, wasn't able to hit as it was intended.
You ever have the experience where someone's trying to teach you something and you're just not getting it? Then a different person comes around and teaches the exact same information, but from a slightly different angle and it all makes sense?
It's like that.
Coaching allowed me to expand my range of comprehension so things I didn't fully understand were now taking on a whole new meaning and providing substantial clarity along the way.
I was making the choice 'to see.' I was willing 'to see.' And as a result, I began 'to see' the world around me in subtle, but different ways.
An idea I've always championed is that every experience is a learning opportunity. It provides skills and information needed to navigate forward on your unique life path.
Curious, that this strongly held belief had no association with answered prayers; at least until I was 32 years old (and almost 33 - my Jesus yr!).
Prayers are, by and large, offered up subtly; and so too, are the answers to these prayers. It takes a willing ear and open mind to fully see them. It might also require a different vocabulary, as answered prayers have many synonyms including insight, intuition, divine guidance - and heck, even coincidence!
Contrary to what childhood Sarah would have you believe, answered prayers don't instantly solve your problems or take them away. They don't grant all your wishes or magically make your dreams come true. But they do give you the confirmation, tools & resources needed to overcome every hurdle & obstacle you come across and help you climb every ladder & mountain to the dreams of your heart.
Young woman to her friend:
"Do you think Jesus had wrinkles?"
. . . or was he SO perfect that even his skin was flawless?"
Friend 1: I just got some new biking gloves! They're not very warm but they're wind-proof.
Friend 2: Nice! I can't wait to see them.
This is some cashew cheese "sauce" I made a while ago. I actually don't remember when I made it. I questioned if it was too old to eat, but the smell test doesn't work bc it smelled weird to begin with! So I tried it and ... it tastes better than it did before. . .
I thought you would appreciate this - and if I'm not at work tomorrow you'll know why!
A message sent to the type of co-worker you like to "wow" with your questionable food timelines.
And earn the title of Daring Spirit for it. 😉
I was listening to Pandora on the TV and was thoroughly enjoying my Big Band station.
Then, all of a sudden, something caught my eye!
I did a double take.
Does that says Booby?!?
[Eruption of giggles]
Not only is this hilarious, but (if this were real) whoever was in charge of editing really missed the mark...
You ever see that movie, 50 First Dates? I didn't like it. I'm not a fan of movies with plots of recurring plots.
On first dates we are excited and eager to learn and see how things go. To learn about our date. To see how we present ourselves - and thus feel about ourselves. To understand how we act and connect in relation to another person and a new situation.
Everything about first dates is new. Even we are new, in a sense.
We are presenting ourselves to a new person - we are showing who we are in a new time, and hopefully, in a new way than we have before.
This idea of first dates for life is not about finding a partner or coming off a certain way. It is about adopting the first date mindset for all of life.
Dates are great - but what about all of the other days of our lives?! There is always so much going on, so much to see, learn, observe and contemplate.
What if we were as eager and excited to really live in the world around us as we are to be in the moment in a date?
Maybe one day life takes on the form of a not so great date, such as eavesdropped over margaritas with my sister and recorded below:
Woman 1: I mean he was a nice guy and all, but it just wasn't clicking.
Woman 2: What did you guys end up doing?
Woman 1: . . . We went to an escape room . . .
Woman 2: Did you at least escape?
Woman 1: No!
Or maybe a different day, life channels this VERY random date snippet - also eavesdropped over margaritas with my sister:
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Woman on date: "Do you still drink a lot of milk?
-- I have a twin sister..."
[no pause for her date's answer or perceptible segue to the new topic]
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The point I'm getting at is, you never know what's going to come. But you've got to be paying attention to your date [life] so you don't miss the good stuff! When you do, you give every day the opportunity to be exciting, energizing, and just the right amount of nerve provoking.
