The Box

Today I want to revisit a topic that I have talked about several times but it was the real driver that started the Minion so I think it's worth looking at again.  I want to talk to you about the Box.  What is the Box?  Good question.  For me to answer that, I need to step back a several months.

Sometime around the end of May of last year, I was out walking down the Trinity River in Fort Worth.  At that point, I was really hurting because I wanted companionship so bad and I couldn't find it.  I was in the midst of finalizing my divorce which I have said may represent the greatest failure in my life.  My ex-wife and I had not been companions for many years and I really wanted that companionship.  I was lonely and it was not a fun time.  On top of that, I went through an emotional transformation that let all of the emotions I had closed off for many years out of the box at the same time.  I was not a pretty sight.  Well in the midst of this great change in my life, one of the most rewarding things I have ever done was birthed - this blog.  

As I started to write, I found an outlet for many of those emotions that I really didn't understand.  For the most part, I didn't want them and didn't think I needed them.  As I began to write these, the Lord showed me something that has revolutionized my life and I think I need a revival of this in my life.

See, God showed me something about how he does things.  In particular, he takes a box.  Now as I was walking that day, I saw it.  It is silver with a red ribbon around it.  The box and the lid are wrapped separately so that when you take the top of the box off, the ribbon and bow are still on the top while the wrapping paper and ribbon are still on the bottom as well.  It is truly a beautiful looking present.  God takes the lid off of this box and he starts loading it with all sorts of good things.  Once he is finished, he puts the lid back on and sends it to the earth as a present.  So guess what he puts in the box.  He puts in all sorts of wonderful gifts and amazing talents.  He puts kindness, compassion, love, generosity, and all sorts of good things inside this box.  He truly loves the people on the earth and he wants to bless them. 

Now because He loves people so much, He is constantly sending these boxes to the earth.  He takes great care to make each one unique and each one is perfect in his eyes.  Then after he has added His tenderness and joy to this gift, He sends it to the earth.  Do you know what he calls it?  He calls it - YOU!  He cares so much about others that He sent you here and when He did, He made you perfect in His eyes.  There are so many times that other people look at us and we may feel like we are inadequate or inferior in some way but we don't look at ourselves like God looks at us.  The Bible says, He is love.  Now we love people in many different ways.  We love our friends, we love our family, we love our children and we love that special someone in our lives but He is love.  We use love as a verb.  For God, it's a noun.  It's who He is.  And He is incapable of doing anything but loving you.  No matter what you think or others think, the creator of the whole universe thinks you are really special.  He thinks you are amazing and he intended for you to be a gift to the people around you.  He intended for you to be a blessing and He equipped you to do just that.  If you think you are not capable of blessing others, that is a lie from the devil.

So as you look at yourself, know that God made you the perfect Box full of all sorts of talents, abilities and capabilities.  Don't let anyone tell you any different!

Now I want to take this one step farther and leave you with this.  You know that person you don't like very much.  You know who I'm talking about.  The one who annoys you at school or the one at the office that just drives you up a tree.  Yup that's who I'm talking about.  God sent them to earth the same way he sent you and me.  He made them perfect and gave them amazing talents and abilities.  If this person doesn't particularly act right toward you, try to look inside them and see some of the good things that God placed inside them.  How about the person that everyone else calls a loser?  God made them too and He made them unique.  Guess what?  God has never ever made a loser.  He doesn't know how.  So when you see someone struggling, try to look inside their box and see the good things God has placed inside them.

That's another Opinion of the Minion 

Time

Today I want to talk to you about time.  How many hours are their in a day?  Come on, this isn't a trick question.  Yup, there are 24 hours.  Now let me ask a couple more questions.  If you found a homeless guy living under a bridge in Fort Worth, how many hours a day does he have?  Yup, the answer is still 24.  OK, how about President Obama or Bill Gates?  We still get the same answer - 24 hours.

Do you see my point.  The difference in successful people and those who haven't achieved all they would like normally centers around how they use their time.

Some people spend a lot of their time complaining or watching TV or playing video games.  Now before anyone gets mad, let me say that I do not think there is anything wrong with watching TV or playing video games.  I like to play NCAA football on my X-Box occasionally myself.  I was a child of the first video game generation and we started playing Pac-Man and Space Invaders.  So there is nothing wrong with them if they are played in moderation.  But there is something missing these days that concerns me.  When we spend all of our time being babysat by TV or video games, we miss out on so much life.  Guess what adults, we can be babysat just as much as our kids by the TV.  Sometimes I hear people tell me all about what is happening on this TV show or that one and it really irritates me.  Because it makes me wonder how much time they invest in themselves or their families.

Parents, I heard about a survey that was done of small children.  They were asked what would they want more - new toys, trips to Putt-Putt or Main Event type places, going out to eat, or spending time with their parents.  Do you know what the overwhelming number of children said?  Yup, you guessed it.  They wanted their parents time.  Parents, we can learn a lesson from this.  We need to spend more time with our kids and less time with American Idol.  Do you want your kids to actually want to come around you when they are older?  Do you want them to respect your advice and come to you for counsel?  Then spend time with them today.  When you invest in their lives now, it will pay great rewards later.

Kids, did you know that there aren't very many people who make tons of money playing video games?  Like I said, it's OK to play them but what are you doing to expand your imagination?  As I sit writing this, my children are outside my house playing in a field behind it that has a pond.  I am not sure exactly what they are playing but they are learning to use their imagination.  Plus, they are doing physical activity which is very good for them.

OK, for all of us parents and kids alike, let me ask when was the last time you spend any of your time investing in your own life?  For kids, you are probably going to school which is investing in your life.  For adults, when was the last time you learned something new?  I think we are all familiar with the concept of atrophy.  When we don't use a muscle it shrinks.  That's called atrophy.  I think our brains work the same way.  If we don't exercise it regularly, it will grow stagnant.  All of the sudden, we accept the very things in life we want to change most.  That's a bad place.  We should always work to make ourselves better.  I am dating a remarkable woman.  She tells me all the time how good I am to her.  Now I don't mean this to brag but that is true.  I do treat her well.  But let me tell you this.  If right now is the best she ever gets from me, it will be a sad thing.  I need to invest some of my time in making me a better me.  That takes a lot of work but the rewards are well worth it.

So I want to leave you with this.  How do you spend your time.  When you look back two weeks from now will you be happy with the way you spent this week?  It's too late to change yesterday but it's the perfect time to change tomorrow.  Take a look at how you spend your time and use it wisely.

That's another Opinion of the Minion