Agenda
Close your eyes for a moment and envision the day you were born. Think about the time of year, what was going on in the world and what your parents were thinking. The moment you sprung to life, you were quickly set up to check your height, weight, heart rate, lungs and all other required tests. These tests are done to check your health but also the beginning of being compared with the rest of the world.
No matter your age, a new born or older in age, there is a comparison and agenda set out for you. We may not realize this, but we are surrounded by agendas. Family and friends want certain things or tasks done in a particular way. The media, politicians and corporations all have agendas to get more viewers, votes or items sold of their product. These are all examples of who or what have an agenda for a person or group. Some are more subtle than others, but control in some portion of your life is what each strives for.
Routinely we see those agendas make for unfortunate circumstances. Instead of kids being able to be kids or adults striving for their hopes and dreams, popularity contests become the norm. Kids are worrying about their social media platforms with how many likes they may have and adults are being told this is how it must be. Each scenario is taking away one’s true potential. Sure, everyone wants to be the queen/king, a celebrity or the next social media viral hit. BUT, were we all truly created to be that?
What is our own personal true agenda that will tell the story God has set out for each one of us? God did not create us all to be the same. Our fingerprint is different from the person beside us. Culture has created a mimic or comparison culture. We quickly want to be like someone else or do what they are doing and allow ourselves to think our lives are wrong. The news, pictures everywhere and applied filters of social media have consumed our life. These things do not tell an entire story of someone. This is just a glimpse into one moment.
We need to use our own story to help bring positive change to the world. It is okay to struggle or even fail. We cannot always have that picture perfect or fairytale life every moment. This is a part of life that no one tells when we are very young. Life is a marathon not a sprint, but don’t get complacent in life. We have a choice to make, we can bottle away all our pain or struggles and keep it inside us or we can go through the tough times to build and learn from it. When we go through it, we become stronger and live a more fulfilling life.
This reminds us of our time working in long term care in Louisville, Kentucky. Patty (not her true name because of HIPAA) was the most caring patient and loved to play games and spend time with her friends. She had been through tough times in her life, but she always loved when her family came to visit and soak up every minute with them. Asking her what we should do growing up to be happy just as she is, she quickly said, “I live in the moment of everything I do and be myself doing things I love.”
God is bigger than anything in your past. Miscarriages and infertility can be managed in ways that we cannot even imagine. Chains can be broken from addiction, depression and anxiety. When we get rid of the agenda that just follows others and instead, we are writing our own story with God, things are going to begin to change. You will see a fulfillment in your life like never seen before. You will see a path that you never thought would be possible. The path less traveled is okay from time to time, trust us on that.
When we are asked when we are young what we want to be when we grow up, we say firefighter, policeman, doctor, cure cancer or be the president. People tell us that anything is possible through faith and hard work. Do not become disheartened in life as anything is possible through hard work. Keep those dreams as you had when you were a kid. Hope is still alive in your dreams; you just have to believe in it. Keep the curiousness alive in your heart no matter how old you may be. As soon as faith, hope and love become optional to you, it will become optional to your children and next generation.
What is your personal agenda? Go set the world on fire, be you, not what the world thinks you should be. Be the hope for children and the next generation.
XOXO
Mark and Megan