When All Else Fails, Stand.

(side note - this is re-posted from last week, with some edits. A friend thought it was kinda rant-y so I fixed it up a little. Proceed.)

Tempestuous.
That's how I'd describe this week, if I were asked. If I were asked what day it was, I would say "Friday!" with absolute certainty, cause surely, surely, it can't be only Tuesday... can it?

Yep. 3 days in and it's already all a blur. I was sitting here tonight trying to focus on something and finding myself so, so, distracted. So many things were fighting for my attention and mental focus that I could barely think straight. It's a little thing I like to call "overwhelmed". Being the masochistic person I am, I kinda like it when I start to get to that point. It's like the world is taunting me, asking me what I'm really made of, throwing down the gauntlet.

Challenge accepted.

If there's anything I've learned about myself over the last few years, it's that I always end up able to handle a lot more than I initially think I can. It's all about foundation. You know what you're built on, what you're built of, and many things just become water under the bridge, so to speak. It's not so hard to let things go, or focus in on what's really important, when you're secure in your footing.

I know who I am, Who I belong to, where my hope lies. I am finding out more every day about what I am destined for, who I am destined to become, and what kinds of people I need to partner with, or protect myself against, as I walk my path.

A friend warned me recently that though you may think that some people are your allies, they in fact are not. It's usually pretty obvious when you let yourself think about it. A person's actions will end up revealing exactly what they are aligned with, every time. But sometimes we talk ourselves out of something, because we really, really wish it wasn't that way. Silly humans.

Never let those with unclear allegiances take you off of your course. Stay firm! Protect yourself from those traitors to your destiny. Someone who will say they are for you but not stand for you when the heat is on, is not a ally at all.. and you can't afford to get sidetracked from your future just in order to try to bring them with you.

Some people have to be left to go their own course, at times. God has a way of getting a hold of their hearts and reminding them of their own destiny. He will not fail them, just as He will not fail you.. though you may feel alone at times.

You are not.

Sometimes we lose parts of ourselves that we never intended to let go of. Sometimes we give them away, sometimes they are taken. Another little tidbit that a friend reminded me of this week... you have to protect your heart. And I don't mean in a romantic sense or anything, I mean your heart. The core of you, who you are inside.

Who you let have influence over you is so, so, essential. Some people will enable you and empower you to grow. They will help you see your flaws and help you work your way out of them. They will lead by example and help show you where to go.

Others won't. For whatever reasons, and for whatever motivations, they simply will not help others reach their dreams, and in worst case scenarios, actually try to keep them back.

Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

Seriously, and mostly I direct this toward my female readers, who tend to have more sensitive hearts than them boys, guard your heart. Again, not talking about romance. Find out the core of who you are, what you stand for, and where you are going, and steer far clear of those who refuse to put themselves aside and partner with you.

Don't let yourself become a person who will step on others to get where they want to go. Don't become a manipulator. Don't settle for anything less than complete, transparent, honesty. Don't sell yourself short by accepting that kind of treatment from others, and never, never, let yourself become someone else's dream killer.

Cause that's just not cool.

One final thought: I was at work yesterday (I was gonna say 'last week' cause it seems like forever ago already, but no, it was yesterday) and had all these little issues coming up and bombarding me. I just kept telling myself, "let the small stuff go, wait for the real battle to come so you can take your stand then."

And I realized...
The battle IS the small stuff.

The everyday, making one small good decision, defending one small injustice, taking a stand on one small issue just because it is right. I can't let the small battles go by, unfought, and then expect that I won't have a world war waiting for me at the end. One that I am not ready to handle because I refused to train myself by dealing with the small things as they came.

My stand is to take a stand now, because no "small injustice" is actually just, no "small wrong" is actually right, and no "small lie" is actually truth.

Sometimes it's just black and white, and as yet another friend told me, "sometimes you've just got to throw an elbow".

In love, of course. :)