by Jason WildeGetting a degree.
Finding a wife Finding a job Buying a house Having a kid Getting a graduate degree Getting a promotion and a raise Buying a new car Opening an investment account Having another kid (or two) Becoming a doctor Buying a bigger car Finding a bigger house Losing 40 pounds Traveling Feet in the Sand Making 6 figures Feeling comfortable Paying off the car Having friends Not worrying about money, but thinking about it all the time. Living the American dream Then why is it that I sit in our empty bedroom, staring at the air mattress on the floor, feeling happy and at peace? I had it all, a textbook success story. No worries, Life is Good, Golden Happiness...so why does it feel like such a relief to give it all up? Tonight we opened our last bottle of wine - a bottle that had quietly sat on the top of our mantle for the past few years as a celebratory goal - a trophy that was to be enjoyed whenever we reached the threshold at which I could retire from my engineering career and...well...do something else. Little did I know that this "something else" would come so soon, and that it would involve literally giving up everything we had thought made us successful (except the kids and wife, of course). Would I have believed if I knew my next employer's benefit plan included eternal success in the form of forgiveness, mercy, and personal sacrifice? And would I believe that I willingly, joyfully, and happily did it all without second guessing myself? So, here's to my failure in the worldly sense, happily conceded for the least of my brothers. Here's to constant prayer for someone with an impossible sickness. Here's to sacrifice so that I can provide clothes for someone else. Here's to the fear that I must fight in order to welcome the stranger. Here's to the sickness that I will feel when I see the hungry child suffering. And sadness when I see the tortured prisoner from the other side of the bars. For I know that eternal success lies beyond our flesh, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where my treasure is, there also will my heart be. (Mt 6:20-21)
2 Comments
Siddharth
8/28/2017 10:02:08 pm
For me,Success is having a plan and executing it. Congratulations on executing your plans and following your heart.
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Delphine
8/30/2017 02:39:10 pm
Thank you to you and your family for making the world a better place. I am joining Siddarth in congratulating you.
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On a MissionTwo passionate parents and their four children are excited to bring His Word to everyone in need while living a life of Gospel poverty as missionaries. They invite you to join them on a journey to encounter our global neighbors that Jesus commands us to love through works of charity and service. Archives
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