Good Bad Examples

I am a very ambitious and goal oriented person, as you may know. I was awake and thinking at 6 AM this morning and I've decided that one of my biggest goals in life is to be the very best person I can be not only for myself, but for my family and friends, my community, and my world. (I was an active 4Her throughout grade school incase you can't tell.) I am always striving to be that person: friendly, loving, giving, caring, honest, intelligent, genuine, etc.. But the opposite is also true: I consciously strive to not be selfish, mean, dramatic, or any other derogatory adjectives. We have the ability to decide our attitudes and how we handle stressful situations and this just goes hand in hand with that: we can decide to be good or bad people.

I also began to think about some people I know, and we all know people like this, who do things that we disagree with, things that get a rouse out of people, things that disappoint people, and who are typically known for a bad trait or two. You know, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family... That sort of thing. Sometimes it's so hard to see the good in those people and it can be so difficult to love them, but the truth is, there is something good to take from every situation. For one, these people are good bad examples of what not to do or who not to be, and in being a good bad example, they are encouraging us to strive for that better person and they give us the opportunity to do so. I once read that the people we feel deserve love the least are those who need it the most and that's how I want to live: I want to love and accept everyone even those who make it particularly difficult and in doing so, I want to set a good example. I really do believe that love can change the world and I believe that in loving we bring not only ourselves closer to God, but others as well. I'd like to share an excerpt from a chapter of Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller that I read recently.

"..to be in a relationship with God is to be loved purely and furiously. And a person who thinks himself unlivable cannot be in a relationship with God because he can't accept who God is; a Being that is love. That is why God tells us so many times to love each other."

I challenge you today to love and care for those around you with everything you've got and to inspire others to do that same.

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