Excerpt from “Thoughts for my Daughters” written for Erica, Laura and Emma
Man is made to work and you all know that work of all kinds has been a mark of my life. But like in all things, work can be more than it should be. I have watched all of you wrestle with the role of work in your life and I am sure the struggle continues. You all have been told by someone along the way that you demonstrate a strong work ethic. I have worked hard for many reasons over the years, some of those reasons good, some of them bad and some of them out of shear terror of not being able to provide for my family. But there often have been times, when I have worked harder because I was trusting in God less. Don’t work by yourself, but work with God in all that you do.
Embrace opportunities and go after them with full expectation of success. If it is not a good opportunity it will show its true colors soon, then you can stop, knowing you gave it a shot. An opportunity is like a flower seed, if see it as only what it is now, you will cast it away without a thought. But if you see it for what it can be become, you do everything to help it grow. When God places an opportunity in front of us, its pretty exciting to see what he wants us to learn from it. It could be lessons of success or lessons of failure – but lessons from God, none-the-less.
You’ve heard me say it in different ways, but always try to face any problem with clarity of thought. Of course, at first your vision is muddied by pain, emotion, fear, frustration and all the other emotions that tag along with problems. Push through all that until you can ask yourself what you know and what you don’t know about the problem, and break it down into its smallest components– remembering all the while that God is with you all the way. That is why problems are often opportunities in disguise. Seek God’s wisdom, apply the gifts and talents he has given you and act on each small piece of the problem. The solution will build from those pieces.
Words from The Peeman 