Do you like to window shop? Pass by beautiful displays and storefronts, wishing for things. Whether furniture, clothing, jewelry, or shoes, we long for what we don't have. If you're like me, you can get really caught up in that. I have a very creative imagination. Unfortunately, what I've done for the better part of 40 years is window shop in life. Many times in conversations I find myself saying, "If I had to do it all over again..." or "If I could go back in time, I would..." or how about this ridiculous statement, "If I only had more time...." If you're honest with yourself, do you do that? I hear people do it all the time. We talk about it regarding careers, their children, their marriages. We window shop. Everything looks better in the window all put together doesn't it? The crazy thing is, much like what keeps me from my favorite new pair of shoes, the only thing stopping us from having what we want is us. We complain about what we have but we don't do what it takes to have what we want. Consider this inner dialogue: "These wedges I have are so 2 seasons ago, their so brown, and their only 3 inches. These in the window are dark brown, their new and their all of 3.2 inches!" If we convince ourselves enough the new ones are better, they'll be better. Now listen to this conversation, "My child is so entitled. She's never happy with anything. Lisa's daughter is so good, she's going on mission trips, she's content with what she has." Well friend, who raised your daughter? Ouch. I know. Now, don't get me wrong, we are not entirely to blame. There are externals that come into play I get that. But, how much are we willing to invest in helping our kids go from entitled to understanding and maybe even grateful. Are we willing to try everything and anything? Are we willing to even look at ourselves and see if maybe our patterns aren't the teeniest bit similar? I know. This is hard. We live in such a disposable society though. We are so quick to change, exchange, and throw away when those 2 seasons ago brown wedges are really still good. When it comes to our careers, obviously we can't go back in time, but did we forget we have a future. Did we forget that God has plans for our lives to give us a hope and a....future? No matter how old we are, we may not get a do over, but we do get new beginnings. We have the right to pursue our passions and our dreams. If you're miserable in your current career, change it. Yes, you may have to make some changes. You may have to make some sacrifices, but in the end I promise it will be so worth it. It's never to late to be who you were destined to be. There is a spot waiting somewhere just for you and it isn't filled until you show up. Isn't that exciting? What's it worth to you? Aren't you tired of looking backward? Time for a fresh start. Time for accountability. Time to start setting small goals to reach the big goals. Which brings us to my next rebuttal, "If only I had more time..." I've got a news flash, everyone gets 24 hours in a day. How do you spend yours? Again, it comes down to how bad you want something. What are you willing to sacrifice? If you want to get fitter, will you get up at 5 and hit the gym? When we window shop in life, we long for what we don't have. But, we forget to celebrate what we do have. We forget to realize our potential. We forget to be grateful for the opportunities that lie before us. We sell ourselves short. We can be window shoppers for the rest of our lives or we can dare to reach beyond what we've settled for as we peer in the windows.
"Take delight in the Lord
and He will give you the desires
of your heart."
Psalm 37:4
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