Sometimes The Light Is Kind

Photo by  Anna Szczekutowicz

“The truth is, everyone is going to hurt you. You just got to find the ones worth suffering for.” 

― Bob Marley

Recently, an important friendship has gone through a rough patch. For a long time, all I could see were the things they did wrong. Well, thanks to time, and a lot of prayer, I realize that I am just as responsible as they are, maybe even more. My hope is that it can all be resolved because this friendship is most certainly worth suffering for.

Here’s to all the friends in my life that have put up with me, despite myself, and to all of the friendships that have survived tough times and rocky roads. None of us are perfect, but sometimes the light is kind. 

Rebel

I listened to Lauryn Hill today as I took my morning run. Her unplugged album has been in constant rotation on my iPod for almost a decade and for good reason. Her lyrics are prophetic and her voice, raspy and filled with emotion, drives each song. As I listened to "I find it hard to say", I am reminded that even though I've made some poor decisions in life, the day is not done. No matter how late it is, you have an opportunity to rebel, to turn it around, to say I'm sorry, to give someone a compliment, to tell someone you love them.

But By the Grace of God There Go I

My father was always a man I could be honest with, well at least partially honest. He'd fought in the Vietnam war, partied with Santana while stationed in Hawaii, had exquisite taste in music, was well read... I just felt that he had seen the world and would be sympathetic to my own experiences. So,  At the age of 20, I found myself in the car with my father, driving. I don't remember where we were going, but the conversation is vivid. I told him about a number of friends who got hooked on drugs after high school. I remember being so shaken and scared by their stories. Mostly, I was trying to explain to my father how thankful I was that I had escaped high school without letting the drug culture overtake my life. Like many of my friends, I experimented. I am lucky that my experimentation didn't involve seriously addictive drugs like heroine, but I remember feeling that if heroine had been around at the time, I may have been foolish enough to try it.
But somehow, by the time I was 20, I had the clarity to say, "No, this isn't what I want my life to be about", and I never went back.

My father looked at me and said, "Jamie, that's not luck. But by the grace of God, there go I".

It took me a moment to really process what he had said:

But by the grace of God, I am here, alive, and in a position to honor his plan for me. I am just like any other young teen making careless and foolish choices, but God's grace alone, spared me from that particular hardship.

It doesn't mean that I won't have my own struggles, in fact, quite the contrary. My struggles have been different, but I have fallen short in many ways and those experiences have taught me about my journey and my purpose. It doesn't mean that those friends who struggled with drugs aren't blessed; no, it just means that their road was necessary in order to understand what life has in store for them.

What it does mean, is that each and every one of us must honor our steps, so that we never take for granted our purpose in life, our God given purpose, our birth right. We are all here on this earth to do powerful things, to fufill a purpose, and this thing we call living, is a priceless gift, so honor it.

This revelation shook me to the very core, and it has been my peace and serenity when I am lost. It is my hope that these words will resonate with you, and that we all begin to live with the awareness of the important business we all have to do...