“Let the Beauty of the Everyday Sustain You”
A reflection on ways to move from a life of Surviving to Thriving and claim the life God intended for us, one of Joy and abundance.
In Genesis we read about God’s creation of the world, his plan for mankind being brought into reality. He set to work and within the creation was the Garden of Eden. A place of untold beauty, unimaginable peace, joy and happiness. Perfection in every way, every need provided for, every feeling flowing through love.
Then God gave it as a gift to Adam and Eve. I believe it was God’s intention that this was to be the eternal home for them both, a place where they would live in pure joy and abundance, surrounded by beauty and love. As we know that was not what happened and as a consequence of their choices and actions, they were banished from the Garden and were distanced from God’s original plan for their life, here on earth. God’s plan had to be altered and mankind were place on a different path to living in their ‘Garden of Eden’
My analogy is that our lives are like the ‘Garden of Eden’. We are born into our own God given ‘Garden of Life’. We were created to live a life full of joy, beauty peace and happiness but like Adam and Eve but we become disconnected and distanced from our Garden of Life through the attitudes, pressures and expectations of mankind.
Babies are born with a natural curiosity and innocence. At that time, we are fully connected to the Devine, our souls are our hardwire computer packed with everything we need to live our life according to God’s plan and purpose for us. We each have a unique purpose for being here in this world, and we are given everything we need to step into and fulfill that purpose. As children we look inward and unconsciously listen to the guiding voice of the Lord, but as we grow, we begin to look outwardly for our teachings from those around us. Our parents, guardians, teachers all influence how we see the world. Our thoughts, emotions and behaviour all become influenced by the external world around us and we lose forget that pure connection with God, particularly if our family has no relationship with the Lord.
The connection to God through our soul never breaks, it is always there, it can just become hidden from our consciousness. I know this from not just my own experience but that of many people I have spoken to about their faith. I grew up in a ‘Christian family’ but there was no going to church, no living a Christ focused life, no home group or bible study class but from the age of about 5 or 6 I remember flipping the pages of an old large family bible from past generations . I couldn’t read but I felt a connection with the images and spent hour upon hour pouring over the pages. At the age of 10 I took myself to Sunday school, I knew there was a God and I wanted to know more. My home was stable, my parents were loving and I was raised with a clear set of morals and values but there was no explicit mention of God and the relationship I now know we have with him. So where did my knowledge of him come from and why did I desire to know more… the answer, it was always there, in my soul. For me, the initial disconnection was brief, but as I grew older, my external world once again began to bury the connection under what we see as everyday life.
If the connection to our soul is not nurtured and nourished it falls silent but at some time in your life there will be an awakening; the quiet voice of your soul will begin to speak louder and louder until your connection with the lord is uncovered. This can happen at any age, young or old and anytime in between. Sometimes as for me, the connection may come and go several times until one day you awaken fully and come to know the Lord Jesus and through him you are able to return to God the Father.
When you let Christ into your life you are set free from the limitations and restraints that mankind puts upon you. You see that God has a plan for you and that with his help and guidance you are able to return to the Garden of Eden and live that life of Joy and Abundance. Things that were once impossible become possible in the blessing of the Lord and when you surrender to life’s purpose to him you step into the role of shining your light as a beacon for the world to see. God will bless and guide you to sharing his message through you and through serving others you will set on your path to making a difference in the world.
It is about living my best life now and being the best version of you possible; being able to wake up with a grateful heart and see beauty and joy in the everyday as you live in the Garden of Life. Living with the Lord can transform your life from one of numbness, overwhelm and apathy to one of joy, peace and abundance, receiving opportunities that come your way as you have daily conversations with God that guide and ease your path through life.
It is all too easy to let our souls get buried. Several years ago, life had taken me to a point where, I was stressed and in the midst of anxiety and depression following the death of my mum. I woke up each day with a numbness that was only ever replaced by a sense of overwhelm if I tried to break free from it. My relationships were crumbling and I had no self-worth or sense of identity, there was no passion for life and there was a distinct lack of fun and laughter. For many years I had allowed others to take my control and steer the direction of my life as I chose to step away from my faith again and again. Gradually my identity and confidence had all but vanished. Outwardly I still wore the mask of the strong, confident and resilient girl I had been as a child but inside I was lost, I didn’t know who I was or what my path or purpose was in life anymore, the loss of my mum had completely rocked my foundations and everything crumbled leaving me lost in the rubble of my life. But somewhere deep inside was the Lord, the holy spirit that wasn’t going to give up on me and was just waiting for me to listen. As I listened, I knew there was definitely more life to come and so much more living to do, my soul was reminding me I had a purpose and I just needed to reconnect with it. The more help and support I sought the more the layers of life were peeled back and the stronger the inner voice grew encouraging me on. I started to take care of me Day by day, I read and was encouraged by God’s word, I nourished my mind, body and spirit so I could get back to being the best version of me and fulfilling God’s purpose for my life.
Once you reconnect with your truth, the path to reigniting your soul’s purpose in the Lord, become clear. You will free yourself from the limiting beliefs, expectations and pressures you allow life and other people to place on you.
Living in a life guided by a relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ, opens up a life that is grounded in simple abundance, loving relationships and a world that is filled with the beauty of the everyday. It is the beauty and the joy of the everyday that sustains you when the challenges of life come knocking… when you are connected with your soul you allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead you. You are blessed to be led on a path to help others and to seek out those things that fill your being with a sense of joy. We have everything we need inside of ourselves to unlock a life of joy, peace and fulfilment, sometimes we just need to remember who helping hand it is we need to connect with it.
When we are living in our Garden of life, we are focused on the Lord, we have him at the centre of everything we do, everything we are. Our lives will be a reflection of his love for us, our relationships, our family, our work, our home, everything from what we eat to what we thing to what we feel and what we do.
God gave us our bodies to enable us to live our best life. What we put in our bodies will have an enormous impact on our overall health and well-being. Being mindful of what we put into our bodies and how we treat them is gratitude for this gift. Protect yourself from becoming so purpose driven that you lose sight of what is important; remember God took time to rest and Jesus told his disciples to ‘find a quiet place and get some rest’ (Mark6:32) Ensure you have at least one day off, keep a Sabbath and make it your day to stock up on nourishment of Mind, body and soul doing the things that bring you joy. If you don’t already, commit to the following: eat well, get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and rest in order to restore your mind, body and soul.
Nourishing your mindset with God’s word will help with your self-esteem and self-confidence. God made you and he is the master of creating miracles; you are one of them. Having Jesus at the centre of your heart and mind allows you to break free from the limitation of the pressures and expectations of the world around you. Deep down most of us will struggle with insecurity at some time in our life but when you offer it up to the lord, he gives you the grace, strength and peace to navigate your way through.
We all have a purpose but we can’t always see it. What do you ‘see’ in your future, what is your vision for our life? Martin Luther King Jr expressed his dream and the words have become probably one of the most motivating phrases of all time. He said his vision was from God and with God on your side, anything is possible. God gives us a vision to fulfil see Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision, the people perish”, he wants us to bring his love to the world by using our unique gifts he gave to us in our creation. Our purpose becomes clear through our skills and talents, when they are God-Given they are performed easily sometimes with no formal training. They are things we like to do best, the things that light up our soul and make your heart sing.
If you aren’t sure of your life’s purpose, do what you do well and enjoy doing and wait for God’s blessing of success. When we are fulfilling our purpose or calling, we will be serving others in some way. We will have a sense of peace and comfort when connected to our purpose, if life is full of struggle, hardship and discontentment it could be you are out of alignment with our creator’s plan for us or we need to offer it back to God as we have started to follow our own path rather than his.
We often start to follow our own thoughts and feelings out of fear of failure, instead we should surrender to the Lord and offer our fear up to God and ask the Holy spirit to come and guide our path. Fear and faith go hand in hand, they are part of your sub-conscious and which one you choose as your focus is the one which will direct your future. When you connect with your life’s purpose you gain a sense of freedom, you are instilled with a confidence, knowing God is working for you and removes the worry of failure. When you surrender to the higher power you are able to tap into the highest vibration that will guide your path. To fully surrender and be aligned you need to know exactly who you are, your gifts, your talents, your strengths, your limitations, only then can you step into the awesomeness that lies within.
Inviting the Holy Spirit to work through you is like having an internal compass and quality checker. You will check-in and ask yourself where do your desires come from, are they yours or do they come from a higher power. When you are fulfilling your vision and connected with your soul, obstacles are overcome, challenges trail away, solutions are easily found and the path is made clear. Think about people you know who are passionate about what they do, is it hard or do they appear to be a ‘natural’ and ooze confidence and skill. These guys are fulfilling their purpose, they are aligned with their calling connected with their soul. Yes, they may well get paid for doing something they love but their passion means they would gladly do it for free. When you were created, you were given a unique set of gifts and talents, and a purpose was set laid down for you to fulfill. Teaching, creating, performing, negotiating, inventing, leading, entertaining, competing sportingly, singing, gardening, listening, encouraging the list is limitless. You were given gifts and a purpose to fulfill, using them.
My wish for you is that you seek to reconnect or stay connected with your soul, stand firm in your relationship with the Lord and step into the life you were created to live, one of joy and abundance, where the beauty of the every day is what sustains you.
Sherry is on a mission to help others reconnect with their soul’s purpose and reignite their passion for life. As a teacher for over 20 years she was always passionate about making a difference in the lives of children. Now her passion is helping make a difference in the lives of those who are searching for a way to feel they are living their best life now. Her life experience has taught her that no matter what your circumstances or background, anyone can achieve their dreams and goal. Sherry now works with women who have lost their sense of self, their identity or just feel they exist rather than thrive in life. She shows them how to reclaim control, regain clarity and reignite their passion for life, connecting with their souls purpose to live a life of joy and abundance.
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