Unexpected Responsibility

Before I get into tonight's message, I have not forgotten that I never finished my review of my getaway at the Massanutten Resort in Virginia. It was truly a blessed opportunity for me to not only relax but be amongst some very motivating and inspirational women. Here are a couple of pics from the weekend. One final highlight of the trip was the symbolic gift that one of the women purchased and gave each of us. She said that after spending time with us, she decided to give us each a little box of scented paper soaps each with a message that she manually added to the box that represented what she saw in us. Her message to me was "bloom". When I think of bloom, I think of a flower-how it flourishes; comes into its own beauty. So since that trip I have made every effort not to disappoint my new friend. I have been on a nonstop mission to bloom in every area of my life, and when I need to be reminded of that message I just go wash my hands-that simple. :)

Now to today's message. I am only human, so to say that I stay motivated and happy all the time is untrue. Occasionally I wake up feeling a little frustrated at certain aspects of my life and how it seems that I work so hard to accomplish so much but it seems to be in vain sometimes. Do not get me wrong, I acknowledge and I am so thankful for the blessings I receive daily, but like I said I am only human and sometimes we let the devil get in our minds. Anyway, Tuesday was one of those days for me where for a brief moment I woke up feeling this way. I had nothing on my schedule, and I was about to have a pity party. As soon as I felt myself going there I told myself to stop, and think back on the past few days-the past few days were exciting: spent time with family and friends, received full points from my instructor on not only my last paper but the one before, had a job interview that I feel confident about, connected even more with an old crush from undergrad that I would have never thought I would speak to, let alone have much in common with, etc. So I immediately grabbed my various books of daily inspiration to get myself back together and I was just fine after that.

This, lately, has not been unusual for me to do, but one of the common themes I picked up on from my words of inspiration was being an example to others through the words I speak and my actions. In one instance, I closed my eyes and prayed that I would open one of my inspirational books to the page I needed to see today; after a few seconds I opened the book and the first page I looked at had this message for me-Responsibility-People Watch Me in Order to Hear God. The message went into how I should not think of myself and my accmplishments as insignificant and that the lessons I have learned in life and the things I have experienced may inspire others. Very ironic huh? Well it gets even better.

Not even an hour or so later I received an email from a young lady who befriended me here in Grand Rapids last year when she invited me to some local professional development and networking events. She is graduating with her Masters degree in communications from Grand Valley State, same degree and school as myself. Although I knew she was graduating within the next month, it never crossed my mind that she, or anyone else for that matter, was going through the same feelings and state of mind that I did when I was graduating. I mentioned how frustrating it is to feel like you work so hard to only feel like it's all in vain; that feeling is even worst when you are right on the verge of completing a degree where you have just completed so many requirements and you are so hopeful about the next career opportunity, but steady getting rejection letters. This is how this young lady was feeling, but at the time I decided to call her as her email requested, I had no idea. Usually I have brief little interactions with her, but today she needed a friend, someone who could relate to what she was experiencing. I would have initially been the first to say that I am still in her shoes and trying to get past those obstacles as well, but from listening to her and answering her questions I found that I was able to help encourage her and help her see things in a different perspective. She sounded depressed when I called her, but she seemed to have "bloomed" by the time we ended the call and in a way I had something to do with that.

With that being said, I say to never disregard or underestimate yourself, your accomplishments, character, etc. because someone may be watching and following your lead, even when you do not feel you are being recognized or appreciated. It is not a responsibility that I knowingly accepted; it was totally unexpected to me but one that God had in store for me to take on today. Please be willing to accept the responsibilities that He brings your way as well.