By: D. A. Slinkard
Our next letter in this series is the letter “J” and the word is “Journey.” We have been on a journey since the start of 2022, and I hope you have been able to get some nuggets out of these previous articles. What I am finding out about the journey is that it goes way too fast and before we know it, our lives pass us by. I remember being a kid and thinking I was going to be a kid forever, and gradually time picked up. I am in my forties, and I have two teenage daughters and I question where the time gone.
Too often we get so caught up in what is happening around us that we forget to slow down and enjoy life. There have been numerous people who have generated success in their business life but would be considered a failure in their personal life. This article is to be a reminder of redeeming the time we have now because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. What are some things you have neglected that you could be doing a better job building up? It could be your relationship with your spouse, or maybe with your own children, or even friendships that need some extra care. We all have something we could focus on concerning our journey through life.
One of the guides I use in my daily life comes from reading the King James Bible. If you are not currently reading your Bible, YES, I would suggest you start. Recently, I read in Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil,” and this is an extremely truthful statement especially concerning the times we are living in. We have agendas being touted that are detrimental to what the Bible teaches. When it comes to our children and the journey of life, it is high time we be active in raising our kids. Sadly though, too many people want to be passive when it comes to childrearing, and what we are finding are kids being brought up with strange ideologies.
The notion that there are more than two genders is beyond me. The notion that a person can decide whether they want to be male or female is absurd. We need to redirect our journey of life and bring back some simple common-sense applications. As I write this article, I hear the television show, Father Knows Best playing in the background and I am amazed how wicked our television shows have become. There was a time in which the father of the home was respected, but over the course of time, we have grown to see fathers be the butt of jokes and seen as good for nothing. Our journey through life has seen the home life be destroyed.
It has been said that what one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace, and we are seeing this play out before us. I do not believe there are many parents out there who do not want the best for their children, but it is time we begin to focus on the journey we are on. We want so many things in our life, but many times we do not know how we are going to get there. If we do not know where we want to go, how will we know when we get there?
Now we need to figure out where we want to go in life and then how we are going to get there. Life is all about decisions we make, and the decisions need to be made daily. Life will give us choices to make and the choices we make will determine our future. What decisions have you made when it comes to the journey you are on? Life is about learning from the journey even when bad things happen. When these negative situations occur, and they will occur, you need to focus on what you can learn from the event. When we do not try to learn from what is happening to us, this is when we end up making the same mistakes over and over again.
The definition of insanity is doing the same things yet expecting different results. We are all on a journey of life, but not everyone will reach their desired destination. Are you willing to commit to the journey to find success in your life? Remember the journey of 20,000 steps begins when you decide to take the first step.
By: D. A. Slinkard
D.A. Slinkard would love your feedback. You can contact him at da.slinkard@gmail.com
April 6, 2024
