Author Donald Miller expresses that there are writers and doers. Most great writers spend a lot of their time dreaming and thinking, not doing, which is why they craft great stories. Doers on the other hand, spend a lot of their time doing and therefore don't have time to write and if they do, it's nowhere close to literary quality.
If you have read Legacy Dad for longer than 5 minutes, you know that I'm a doer and this is not always conducive to maintaining a blog. For this I apologize. I am actually scrawling this on the side of a mountain on a wildfire notice and a pencil borrowed from the Ranger Station. There's an opal colored, glacier fed stream roaring gently next to me. But I digress...
I'm in the middle of spending 4 glorious days just me and my children; hiking, climbing and camping on Mt. Rainier in WA State. We've been bonding, sharing stories and dreaming together for the past few days and we just finished climbing above 6000 feet to look at one of the many glaciers here.
At work, I was just selected for a promotion and position that less than 1% of the people in my organization ever attain.
In these areas of my life, like my current global position, I'm on top of a mountain. Career and Family are at an all time high.
However last week, I sent an email to Gary sand Dante wondering of this blog was really worth the time and effort and if it really reached people and made a difference in their lives? I even hinted of calling it quits.
That's because spiritually, I'm in a valley.
I attend a growing church that just got into a building and it constantly needs support and help, it can be draining and uninspiring at times.
My wife and I taught a parenting course in which I felt like I didn't reach as many couples/parents as I would have liked to.
I've let my spiritual tank run low and now it needs refueling.
Our spiritual tank is the most essential tank of all yet it is also the one that is easiest to leave unattended.
How do we refill?
For some it's fellowship, retreats, classes, support from others but for me it is reading and personal reflection. Each person is different.
What decisions lead us down this path or the other? Or for that matter one path in life or the other? How many times have we chosen a path in life with the best intentions only to look back with regret?
Andy Stanley calls this The Principle of the Path.
What do we need to make good decisions? Information? Other peoples opinions and advice? Expert guidance? - as Dante said in his post, this is the route most people take.
Let me give you a story...
There was once the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon. He was chosen by God, his people and was one of the richest and most successful rulers in mankind's history. But towards the end of his rule, he started relying on his ego and making bad decisions. He starting believing in his own success and listening to the advice of others.
When I was a Financial Planner, I was amazed at people who took financial advice from friends and family who were broke or near bankruptcy. I always advised clients to seek out someone who was in the financial position they wanted to be in and ask them how they did it? Your broke friends can't tell you how to be financially independent. Yet many times in life, we go down the wrong path simply because of bad advice that sounded good at the time.
King Solomon stopped submitting and relying on God and this led him down the wrong path.
If the wisest man in history couldn't figure it out on his own, what makes us think we can fend any better?
It's times like these that I am glad I can spot when I'm in a valley and no matter how far down I go, I always know what it takes to get back out.
My friend Ryan says it best "Keep your eyes on the Son."
Esse Quam Videri and still in the fight.
- Lance