"Ooh Mom, can we play Uno?" asked my oldest son Kedar yesterday with his eyes stretched wide. His little brother Kaleb stood right alongside him waiting for the answer. So, I consented and broke out the Uno cards for the boys to the sound of excited squeals.
You would have thought I had purchased small vanilla cones with sprinkles from the ice cream man. They were that stoked about their card game.
Well, after they got their little hands on the tall colorful deck, initially, the two brothers sat quietly playing their game on the floor in my bedroom. I smiled; they were so peaceful. But then, somewhere around halfway through the first game, they both simultaneously lost interest.
And sure enough, a few moments later, they abandoned the Uno game they had eagerly anticipated and began playing with their matchbox cars.
I snapped the above picture of the cards on my floor with my camera phone, so you could see what a mess Kedar and Kaleb made with the game they played for all of two seconds. When I instructed them to gather the cards back up and put them away, they were not too pleased.
You should have seen those sad and pouty faces. Their upbeat demeanor was gone just like that. They had completely lost all their joy, because they were ready to move onto the next thing.
We can be like that sometimes too. But, unlike Uno, life is not a game. Our decisions and actions have serious implications. We can't hop into something and hop out of it simply because we lose interest in it, or even because it's hard. Children don't always understand this. They have to be taught those lessons. Maturity and experience, however, teach us that we must continue on and keep pressing forward even when we don't feel like it.
Hang in there.
Even when your emotions fluctuate, you have to remain rock solid in your resolve. Your feelings may change, but your determination, dedication, and commitment must not waver. There are seasons when you have to ignore your feelings. Otherwise, you'll find yourself failing to follow through. You'll be abandoning things and leaving a big mess behind in the process.
Think about it.
If you acted on everything you felt like doing, you would be in a world of trouble, wouldn't you? Of course, because our feelings don't always line up with what is in our heart to do.
That's why I like the quote so much that says, "Action precedes the feeling," meaning, you do what you know you need to do despite what you feel. Then, after you begin taking steps in the right direction, your feelings will fall in line with your actions.
They have not choice.
Today, I encourage you not to allow your feelings to rob you of your purpose and destiny. When they contradict your goals, ignore them and do what you know is right. Do what God called you to do.
And don't you dare give up.
As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs
www.empoweringeverydaywomen.com
