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Loving Life
May 19, 2004
Welcome to Change Your
World!
Hello. My name is
Courtney Huntington, and I am the founder of Change Your World.
Life is hard. There's no
way to get around it. We all will die, and along the way we'll face
hurdle after hurdle. My first year in college I had a roommate who was
impossible to live with. He was stubborn and ornery, and he liked to
have things his way. The thermostat had to be at his setting. The
windows had to be closed. The noise level had to be so low you could
hear a pin drop on carpet. He wanted everything the way he wanted it
and that's it. What made our relationship really hard was that I was
stubborn and ornery, too, and liked to have things my way. We were too
much alike, and we butt heads many times.
We were living in Moscow,
Idaho, which can get a little cold during the winter. Each room in our
apartment had its own thermostat. My roommate liked warm temperatures
and usually had his thermostat set at 80 degrees, as I remember it. He
was reasonable enough that he didn't make us keep the temperature in
the living room at his preferred setting, but he didn't always
appreciate the temperature level I enjoyed—even if he was gone. One day
he came to the apartment after class. I was sitting in the living room
with a window open. We were a third-floor apartment, and since heat
rises, the heat from the lower levels filtered up to ours. I thought it
had gotten too hot, so I opened the window. He saw the window open and
became livid. I was young and feisty and responded in kind. Instead of
trying to soothe him and release the tension, I blew up in return. So
here we were, two young men who had to live together because we'd all
signed the lease, and we were angry beyond reason. Our altercation of
words continued for some time, each of us stomping off in opposite
directions. Thankfully, we never fought physically.
After a few minutes had
passed and we had both cooled off, we returned to the scene of the
fight. We had enough sense left to apologize and start over. We didn't
let our anger remain, and we didn't leave the issue unresolved.
Instead, we settled our dispute, acknowledging that we had both been
too angry and said things we shouldn't have. Once we'd acknowledged our
poor reactions, we were able to discuss sensibly the open window. He
expressed his feelings about it; I expressed mine. And we came to
understand each other's position.
For my roommate and I to
settle our differences, we had to be committed to making our
relationship work. We couldn't allow resentment to develop. Thankfully,
my brother, who also shared the apartment with us, stayed away long
enough for us to resolve the issue quietly between the two of us. We
became close friends, and we remain on good terms to this day, though
many miles have come between us. The rest of our time together at
college we were close friends and discussed things we couldn't discuss
with most others. We became close confidantes. Because we cared enough
about each other to resolve the issue immediately, we became even
stronger friends.
Whenever we face
challenges, we can overcome them, if we care enough to meet them
head-on and deal with them immediately. When we face challenges, we can
despair or become depressed, especially if they are on-going or major
challenges. I have often felt like I wasn't up to the task when I have
tried to make major changes in my own life. Sometimes I become
impatient because I want to change faster. When that happens, I remind
myself that change takes time and effort. Major changes are never easy,
and major challenges aren't, either.
One way to keep major
changes and challenges from overwhelming us is to remind ourselves that
so much of life is worth loving. There's so much that we can enjoy
every single day. Stories abound
of men and women
finding pleasure in the midst of great disaster. A few years ago, the
delightful movie Life is Beautiful
showed how one father during WWII filled his son with joy, even in a
prison camp. Though the story is fictional, similar stories of
real-life heroes remain with us, as well. In his audio series, The Psychology of Winning, Dr.
Denis Waitley tells of POWs during WWII who made the most of their
imprisonment by pretending to play guitar and piano, though they had no
access to real instruments. When they were finally released, they
played better than they ever had before. Some of them, in fact, had
never played an instrument before! In addition, they sang hymns and
recited poetry together, and kept their spirits up, despite the
horrible treatment they received. They kept the bad from overwhelming
them by keeping their minds focused on all the good they received.
In one of the Apostle
Paul's letters, he tells the people of Philippi to rejoice in all
things (chapter 4, verse 4). He tells them to be anxious for nothing,
but instead to give thanks and
make their requests known to God. Then he instructs them with these
famous lines:
Whatever
things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things
are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything
praiseworthy—meditate on these things. (verse 8, NKJV)
He tells the Philippians
to keep their minds on the good things. Be thankful and keep your mind
on the good, he tells them. Just a few verses later he adds,
I
have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be
abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have
learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer
need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (verses
11–13)
Paul learned to keep his
mind focused on the good at all times. Despite his imprisonment and
impoverishment, he kept his eyes on the prize he sought: The crown of
life. He didn't allow the circumstances of life to overcome him. He
overcame them.
In his letter to the
Romans, Paul goes even a step beyond this. In the last passage above,
he says he knows how to be content in prosperity or in poverty. In the
fifth chapter of his letter to the Romans, he says, "We also glory in
tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverence; and
perseverance, character; and character, hope" (verses 3–4). When we are
persecuted, we ought to respond with joy, not anger or despair. This
echoes what another New Testament author wrote. James said,
Count
it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing
of your faith produces perseverance. But let perseverance have perfect
work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. (chapter
1, verses 2–4)
Difficult times are no
reason to fret. Be full of joy when they arrive. Don't let your heart
be troubled. If it seems difficult to adopt this attitude—and it is
hard sometimes—remember these further instructions from James:
If
any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally
and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in
faith, with no doubting, for ho who doubts is like a wave of the sea
driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he
will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways. (verses 5–8)
When times seem worst,
rejoice. That's all. Just rejoice. Love life. Be thankful. If you want
to live the life you love, love the life you live.
With many blessings and
wishes for successful positive change,
Courtney Huntington
Founder
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