Going Round the Mountain, Again.....

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 Whether it's going around the mountain again, or Robinhood's Barn, or simply repeating what has become an excruciating exercise in futility, there is one thing we need to recognize; we've all been there, and we will undoubtedly be there again.  What I want to do today is encourage you to never give up, never give in, and never, ever doubt what your destiny is.  Believe it or not I am writing this today just as much for me as for any of you.  There are struggles that each of us have that for some unknown reason seem almost impossible to tackle, let alone explain.  If you find yourself incapable of explaining your current position, how you got there, the why's and how's, then almost for certain, you are going to be going round the mountain one more time.  Lessons come to us to teach, to prepare us,  and to open our eyes to reality.  Now reality is sometimes a difficult thing to grasp, but sooner or later clarity will come to you, and your journey around the mountain will finally come to an end.

As humans we often question things, and for some unknown reason never expect to get an answer to our question.  This may stem from the fact that we have indeed been going around the mountain for what seems like a lifetime.  The question so many people ask is why.  Why am I going through this ordeal again?  Why do things have to be this way?  What do I do when I don't know what to do?  All questions each of us have asked at one point in time or another, and the very same questions you will be asking yourself the next time you make a pass around the mountain.  Failure is never fatal, it is simply a bump in the road.  Failure is often not pleasant, but it is a valuable tool in teaching us the better way, the perfect way, the way that will take you to the peak for that glorious view of all things.

I fully understand the torment that can come from situations.  The unanswered questions, and the desire to have those questions answered in a way that we know that we know we are going to make it.  I cannot put myself in your shoes, but I can empathize with you as I have had my own struggles, struggles that seemed almost impossible, and more painful than words can describe.  Faith tells us to see things as though they are, even in the absence of actually seeing the results you seek.  Displaying faith in the face of struggles is difficult, it is maddening at times, and to be honest is causes one to feel lost and all alone.  Trust me, I have had many an opportunity in life to feel the loneliness aspect of life, and man oh man, it sucks to be brutally honest.  As I write this today, I am struggling with a few situations that quite frankly have me feeling totally alone.  Struggles are never easy, they never come at a time when you are really prepared for them, but you have to believe that they are there to teach us a lesson, and that lesson is what will get us to the place in life we need to be.  I've  never met a single person who will say they have not gone through struggles in their life.  Oh sure there are those who will portray themselves as superheroes, but this facade is nothing more than a smoke screen that will allow them to not actually own what they are going through, and because of that will no doubt be required to go around the mountain one more time.

If you are feeling stressed, feeling alone, feeling like you haven't a clue as to what the next step should be, just own that.  Thinking that we can hide our true feelings to God is simply idiotic.  The sooner we can own things, the sooner we can correct our course,  the sooner we can continue on with our journey, void of going around the mountain again.  Masking what you are truly feeling is never going to be of help to you.  Look at it this way.  If you have ever tried to paint a room, normally you scrape, and scrape for what seems like an eternity because with each layer of paint you remove, you uncover a different color below it.  What you thought was going to be a simple task of removing one layer, has now become a major project removing numerous layers.  Problems come when we try to circumvent the process and instead of removing all the layers, we try to simply do the top one.  Trust me, the finished product is never going to be what it could have been, and you and I both know it.  Shortcuts when it comes to learning things is never the answer, and I know many of you do not want to hear that.  

There are no shortcuts when it comes to going around a mountain.  There are no shortcuts when it comes to learning.  There are no shortcuts when it comes to walking in, and understanding your destiny.  Things take time, and sometimes as much as we want it now, we need to recognize the perfection of the universe and things will happen when they were intended to happen.  That brings me to a very important part: stop questioning the lessons you are going through.  If it wasn't necessary to go through something, you would not be going through it.  Once again you either believe in the perfection of you, your design, your creation, and the perfection of the universe, or you don't.  Trust me, you can tell someone who believes in the perfection I speak of, and those that don't.  Those who can't accept going around the mountain, maybe for the tenth time, are the ones who have never truly believed in their perfection.  I know that may sound strange, but truth is truth.  There are plenty of people who simply try to do everything outside of God's plan, away from what was meant to be, and try to circumvent the need to go around the mountain again.

I wish I could tell you that struggles will never try to attach themselves to you in the future. Oh I can say it, but I would be doing each and everyone of you a grave disservice.  What I can tell you is that each step we take, every course correction we make, has a reason behind it.  We may not know or fully understand the reason at first, but rest assured it will be brought out into the light in due time.  So many people will struggle, and struggle, and struggle with things because they won't take the time to simply allow God to direct their steps.  Don't you know there are people who feel they have all the answers?  I for one do not have all the answers, but I am willing to walk things out, learn from situations, and know that no motion, either forward or backward is lost motion.  Set-backs will happen. Failure is sure to come to each of us once or twice in life.  One step forward, two steps back does not spell failure.  

I've been knocked down, dragged about, gone through things that I could not explain, and things that I certainly didn't want.  Once the dust settled I was able to see the wisdom in all of it, even if it hurt at times.  Today I want you to decide to accept certain things, and realize that in accepting certain challenges, certain hurts, and suffering, that through it all you are gaining wisdom, knowledge, and what is probably the most important thing, faith.  Faith that says you've got this.  Faith that says you are not alone.  Faith that says no matter the time, the length, or how big the mountain is, you will conquer it.  We only fail when we give up.. We only fail when we stop seeing the true us.  That which is intended to happen will happen.  You have been given the power, the wisdom, and the fortitude to get through it.  It's time to start believing that, and walking in truth, in power, and in your destiny.