Pay Attention- Christmas Lesson Part 2

For the past couple of years I have experienced a reoccurring dream. First, let me say that I am a big believer in paying attention to life and allowing our experiences to be our greatest teacher. The late televangelist Oral Roberts used to say there was a miracle coming our way every day, it was just up to us to reach out and receive it. In many ways I believe this. However, most days I believe each day offers the simple miracle of a life lived in the present while being self-aware. So, when I recently heard author, former monk and psychotherapist Thomas Moore say that our dream life can be considered more real than our conscious life, I paid attention.

I paid attention because, as I mentioned, I have a reoccurring dream. It’s not the exact same dream over and over but rather the same experience over and over. In dream after dream, night after night, my subconscious places me in circumstances that result in my being totally frustrated, confused and in some way out of control.

For example, I have dreamed that I was driving but the steering wheel wasn't working properly, causing me to swerve and barely keep the vehicle on the road. I have dreamed that I was looking for something, but just couldn’t find it (leaving with experience of searching and searching). I have dreamed that I was making a presentation and couldn’t get the computer to work, resulting in me being tangled in wires and cords…..and I could go on.

Each dream, while placing me in different scenarios, contained circumstances by which I was desperately trying to do or perform some task, yet finding myself discombobulated, angry and exasperated. If I offer an honest assessment of my life (which I truly believe in) I would say this “feeling” of struggle, anxiety and of 'being out of control” is not only a recurring experience in my dreams, but in my life.

Although I hold myself to a high standard, I can give myself a break by saying that I’ve done well in life (considering the limited resources I’ve had available to me). However, it’s never felt like it’s ever enough…I’ve even been guilty of saying that I don’t seem to have the time, energy and resources to accomplish all that I’d need to. And that brings me to my own version of “Blue Christmas” this season and the lesson of surrender I began in the last post (if you haven’t read the post “Unexpected Christmas Lesson” give it a look).

The particular circumstance offering me anxiety this Christmas is my oldest son, Trey. In my opinion, there is nothing that can make one feel more helpless and out control quite like the experience of parenting. I think this is especially true when parenting an adolescent. Granted, it can be a confusing time for them…they have bodies of adults and the brains of children. Nevertheless, for me, it feels much like my reoccurring dream where I wrestle with some seemingly simple task (such as driving or operating a computer mouse), yet with very little success.

Trey is headstrong, stubborn, and impulsive but with very little critical thinking skills. If you add that with the typical self-centered attitude of most teenagers, it’s enough to make you scream! While I struggle to find a way to guide him through this tumultuous time (not to mention dangerous...have you seen the news?), I am not without lots of “helpful” voices.

• My mother, who believes brute force is the answer to all of the world’s problems, thinks I should beat him.
• His mother (my former spouse) thinks he should just come back to live with her (although there are so many ways that could end in disaster that I don’t have time to type them all here).
• My brother, who has no children and knows not the perils of child discipline, thinks I should just put my foot down and “make” him to do this or that (which is always easier said than done).
• Other avenues of thought suggest I should send him to counseling (which is also a favorite of my brother who is a licensed therapist).
• While others say I should just love him through this, giving him space to figure it out on his own.

Maybe a mixture of all of the above is the magic key, but that’s just it. Is there a magic formula? I have ALWAYS wanted to be a parent, however I’m second guessing that decision more than ever these days because it is proving to be one more opportunity for me to feel like the world is swirling around me (much like the tornado in The Wizard of Oz)....one more example of my seeming inability to live life successfully.

What am I going to do about Trey? I don’t know, but there is one thing I have decided. I have decided to give up (as much as I possibly can). That doesn’t mean that I don’t love him, or care about him or am even hurt when he makes some really poor decisions. It means that I am at my rope’s end, which is, believe it or not, exactly where I believe God wants us. My reoccurring dream of feeling out of control, I believe, is nothing more than a constant reminder to me of the power of surrender.

See, surrender requires trust. It is a true test and testament of our faith. I’ll talk more about that test in my next post (I’ve already made this post too long) but until the next post, please know....

This is not the end of our story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. If you’re at your rope’s end, with your back against the wall…GOOD! That is where God is most glorified because you don’t know God is all you need until God is all you’ve got. Just hang in there because there are #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2015, Ray Jordan)

An Unexpected Christmas Lesson

Merry Christmas! That’s right, not just Christmas, but our annual hope and public proclamation is that it will be “merry”. This age-old greeting reminds us that our expectation for the holiday isn’t to be mediocre or average but happy and “holly jolly” and filled with exceeding joy…..

Geez! Just typing it is exhausting. Each year, there are many people who don’t experience the holiday this way, however,  this year I seemed to have heard from many more people than usual that it’s been particularly hard to get in the “Christmas spirit.”I have to admit, this year has been difficult for me as well.

Because I practice my spirituality in the tradition of liturgical Christianity, this time of the year isn’t as much about Christmas as it is about Advent. Advent is the beginning of the traditional Christian calendar and a time when we emphasize the spiritual practice of waiting, the spiritual gift of patience and the spiritual reality of the Divine being birthed, not only within Mary the mother of Jesus, but within each of us as well.

Yes, the birth of Jesus is thought to be a beautiful, holy and joyous occasion, however the time before Jesus’ birth was actually uncertain, anxious and even scary. From the terrifying declaration of the Angel to Mary, to the uncertainty of Jesus’ birth (remember, they were essentially homeless at the time) to the decree from Herod to have all of the male babies and toddlers killed, thus causing the young Jesus and his parents to flee (as refugees, no doubt) to Africa to escape his murderous rampage. Now, that’s some scary sh*t!

So, today I find solace in this story as I face my own sense of uncertainty, fear and sadness this Advent and Christmas season. To say it bluntly, my life wasn’t supposed to end up this way. Believe me, I had great plans! Plans for me, and what my family and life would look like. Needless to say, NONE of them have worked out according to my master plan.

If I were to be completely honest, my life is a mere remnant of what it was “supposed” to be, the point it would be almost unrecognizable to a young Ray, full of hope and promise. Please don’t get me wrong, I don’t want anyone to cry for me or play the world’s smallest violin. I have a good life and I have so much to be thankful for! In many ways I am stronger and wiser than I’ve ever been. I am definitely more authentic than I’ve ever been (and this fact alone is worth all of the sacrifices I’ve made). However, the all of the wealth of good things in my life can’t completely steer me away for noticing the areas of dysfunction, lack and disappointment.

So, what is there for me to do? I, again, turn to the story of Jesus’ birth. When poor Mary, a young teen whose life was completely turned upside-down by unexpected circumstances, was confronted with unexpected life plans she simply responded with these words (as recorded in Luke 1:38),

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me, according to your word.”

Yes, that’s the word for me (and possibly you) this Advent and Christmas…the lesson of surrender and the ability to let go. I’ll talk more specifically about my own situation and how this applies in my next blog post (it feels good to be writing again). But until then, please know that…

This is not the end of our story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. If your Christmas isn’t exactly “merry”, then you are in good company. The first Christmas wasn’t exactly good times either. Fear and uncertainty are as much of faith as is victory and triumph; one is incomplete without the other. But no matter what the season presently looks like, just remember there are #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2015, Ray Jordan)

A Testament to 20 Years of Friendship: My Salute to Arthur Ingram!

I am aware that many of us have not had good experiences with so-called "friends." I also know that for some of us, true friendship has been few and far in between. So, I cannot let the month of August pass without acknowledging the 20th anniversary of my friendship with Arthur Ingram. I know no one who is more loyal, compassionate, caring, and trustworthy.

20 years ago, August 1995, Arthur and I met as new students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Science, a magnet residential high school (Gosh!! I can't believe it's been that long ago!). We initially viewed each other with puzzlement and possibly a bit of suspicion, but both quickly faded and an amazing friendship developed...one that has lasted the test of time and all that life could possibly throw at us.

Together, Arthur (aka Luther...private joke) and I have braved ups and downs, life and death (literally the birth of our children and deaths of our loved ones), weddings and funerals, marriages and divorces, financial hardships and times of surplus, not to mention fights and arguments, and church and church folk (and God knows that alone is a test of patience). But through it all...Arthur has stood by my side when all others deserted me. When I was in the abyss of life's turmoil, one of the ONLY persons I could call and count to be a REAL friend, was Arthur Lee Ingram, Jr.

He has been my friend and confidant, my brother and my soulmate through thick and thin...when it was convenient and certainly when it was not. I could fill this blog with pages and pages of stories, experiences, anecdotes and memories, but I'll simply end by saying this. I only pray that I have been or can be the kind of friend he has been to me. Arthur, I love you more than you could ever know. You are my brother and I salute your spirit. You, my friend, are truly one of kind! Here's to another 20 years!!!

P.S. This is the only picture I could find of us...

and it's from 10 years ago!

This must be fixed!!

Post 77- Birthday Blues: A Special Blog on the Occasion of my XXth Birthday

Both my biggest obstacle and my best gift is my propensity to think. In fact, I “think” that I probably THINK too much. But I always have. I have always had a tendency to deeply consider the true meaning of things, including the ultimate question of the universe…..(cue the music) the meaning of life (dum, dum, duuummmm!!). Unfortunately, the occasion of my birthday is no different.

I have always had a precarious relationship with my birthday. Growing up, my family didn’t make much of birthdays. Not due to religious reasons, but we just didn’t. I was lucky to get a half-hearted “happy birthday,” and a homemade cake (but only if I asked). In fact, I only had one birthday party as a child, at the age of nine. My second and last birthday party was at the age of 30. It was a surprise party thrown by, my then, partner (thanks Lawrence!!).

Today, my birthday has become a reminder of my age and what I haven’t accomplished. Yes, I know. Nobody likes a pity-party, so I won’t invite you to one. However, I simply want to make the point that my life wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.  I wasn’t suppose to be a divorced parent of three, a former “DL” pastor who is recovering from financial ruin. Does that sound familiar? How many of us are living a life we didn’t plan? How many of us are experiencing circumstances we didn’t expect? Awwww, such is life!

I know I’m not alone, but I can honestly say it wasn’t supposed to be like this!! At this age, I was supposed to have accomplished much more! I was supposed to have traveled to many more places! I was supposed to have been on the fast track to success and wealth and achievement (everyone predicted it). But I am where I am…and somehow and someway, I must be ok with it.

No, my life hasn’t gone according to plan…but whose does? No, there are many more things I want to accomplish…but if there weren’t what kind of life would I be living? So, in order not to make this post too long (I’ll continue investigating my birthday blues in later posts), I’ll simply say:  life is a journey. Better yet, it is an experience. 

Episcopal priest and theologian, Barbara Brown Taylor, says we shouldn’t see life as a journey, but rather as a sailboat ride. The idea of journey, she insists, indicates we start at one place but only to be satisfied when arrive at the final destination (and what would that destination be, anyway…death?) However a sailboat ride indicates a “to-and-fro,” an experience of adjusting and modifying and responding to what is, even if it’s not what was expected.

So…..on this my (gulp!) 36^th birthday (you don’t know how much it pains me to say/type it…but more about that in a later blog), I offer you these words:

This is not the end of our story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. Yes, life may not be what we planned, but it is what it is! So, our job is not to judge it, but make the best of it! Hang in there, trust that things are unfolding the way they should and know that there are #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2015, Ray Jordan)

Post 76- Ferguson: Where Do We Go from Here?

I was asked to co-lead a town hall conversation entitled, “Ferguson: Where Do We Go from Here?” My co-facilitator was white colleague and the audience was predominately Anglo as well. Following are my opening remarks from that meeting:

Tonight’s conversation is entitled, “Ferguson: Where Do We Go from Here?” I find that title both uncanny and saddening because it’s similar to the title of Dr. King’s last book, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community.” I find it both uncanny and sad because all of these years later we are yet faced with similar options.

I literally woke up this morning thinking about Jazz singer Billie Holiday. In 1939 Billie Holiday released a song that would prove to threaten her career, her safety and even her life. By singing the song “Strange Fruit” she turned a mirror to America, and simply dared to tell the truth. For me that’s fundamental to Spirituality 101…TRUTH. We are to tell it, live it, be it.
So, when I thought about preparing remarks for tonight, I was almost at a loss of words. I am a teacher and preacher by nature and trade, but tonight I am stand as neither, but simply as a human and an American who will attempt to follow the example of Ms. Holiday. I want to simply tell the truth.

This is the Truth as I know it:

1.     People of Color didn’t create racism, but are the ones who have been left to almost singlehandedly dismantle it. We didn’t create it, so we desperately need the help of white folks to get rid of it.

2.     If were to tell the truth, we would admit that our country was founded in the deep recesses of violence, greed, racism and sexism, and that is the American Way. Therefore, “good” people can’t just sit by idly, hoping and wishing things will be different. Just as it was intentionally constructed to be this way, we (people of social consciousness) must be as intentional in deconstructing and then reconstructing a system that doesn’t privilege some at the expense of others. In other words, waiting on someone else to do the heavy lifting simply isn’t working.

3.     Most specifically, in this country black people have been the most reviled, despised and victimized people, quite possibly, the world has ever known. Black lives have always been and continue to be valued less than other lives. Therefore we must settle once and for all that blackness is not scary, threatening, deviant or deficient. Furthermore it not something to be apologized for but something to be celebrated. This is the reason I don’t believe in colorblindness. When I teach this to my students I often pick a female in the class and remark that to say you didn’t notice I was black is like telling this student that you didn’t notice she was a woman. For most women, that would be insulting. To not see my blackness is equally as insulting. I want you to not only see it but help me celebrate it as I help you celebrate your identity.  

4.     This country refuses to allow black people to have moments of collective grief. Examples:

a.     The mention of Slavery and Jim Crow is met with the exclamation of
‘Get over it’...while on 911 we say “Never Forget” and when discussing the Holocaust the marching orders are “Never Again.”  

b.     Another example is when white folks create the ‘cardinal sin’ of interracial conversations. That is, when a person of color suggests they have been a victim of racism, for a white person to instinctually suggest that there MUST be alternative justification. It is an insult to one’s intelligence (because we all know how fair, and just and egalitarian white folks have historically been...right?)

c.      Or when any mention of structural, institutional injustice always leads back to “Black-on-Black” crime, as demonstrated recently by Mr. Giuliani.  When actually most homicide happens intra-racially (for example, 84% of whites die at the hands of other whites but we never hear the term “white-on-white” crime).

d.     Lastly and most recently is how the protest chant and hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is being challenged on social media and thereby changed to “All Lives Matter.” To say that Black Lives Matter is not to say that others don’t, but when you can’t join me in declaring this, but must insist that it be changed to “All Lives Matter” is like running into a funeral and shaming the family for mourning while insisting you, too, have experienced loss. That would be inappropriate, right? Or it’s like running through a Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure while yelling “Hey!! There are other diseases too!!” WHO DOES THAT?

5.     To simply tell the truth is to echo the sentiments of James Baldwin when he said, “to be Negro and be relatively conscious to be in a rage almost all the time.” It is to be in rage, but I might add it is also to be in fear. I am terrified for the lives of my children because the courts have constantly reinforced the idea that if the Zimmermans and Wilsons of the world feel threatened, they consequently have freewill to eliminate the threat….however the problem remains in the fact that blackness itself has been socially constructed as scary, and therefore my identify is seen as a threat by my simply being. Meaning, at any time my children or I can be gunned down in the streets and left for 4.5 hours with very little recourse.

6.     Lastly, I want to tell the truth by stating that black people, as a whole, are an amazingly resilient, creative and tenacious group of people and have proven to be so by the very principle of “survival of the fittest”. If you know anything about the Middle Passage and the Transatlantic Slave Trade then you know the weakest among us didn’t survive. If you know anything about the over 300 years of slavery that followed then you know the weakest among us didn’t survive it. Similarly, slavery was followed by another 100 years of lynching and Jim Crow…and likewise, the weakest among us didn’t survive it. So, if you are black in America you are, by your very genetic makeup, strong and courageous.  However, let’s face it…black people are also fucked up in many, many ways (let’s just tell the truth!) HOWEVER, many if not MOST of those issues are related to the social, economic, and psychological effects of slavery, Jim Crow, the social construction of our identity, as well as the mass urbanization and incarceration of black people…..all of which we didn’t create but of who’s blunt force black people suffer daily to the head of our communities. So, I’ll end where I began….we didn’t create the conditions, therefore we need your help in solving them.

Rev. Dr. Jeff Hood, my co-facilitator, and me.

Post 75- Love Liberates

 Listen Here and/or Read Below

 “Love liberates!”

~Dr. Maya Angelou

“An unexamined life is not worth living.”

~Plato

Both of these quotes resonate with me deeply, but I’ll start with the second one from Plato, because it’s truly one of the guiding posts of my life. I could have also quoted ‘Auntie O’ (Oprah), in saying “your life is always speaking to you,” because I also believe that life/the Universe/GOD is an ever-present voice, reflecting to you what you most desperately need to know in and for the present moment. So, if you simply listen to what your life is saying, you’ll clearly hear the voice of God.

By listening, I mean we must pay attention to what’s happening around us, particularly when something out of the ordinary occurs. And once we notice that occurrence, we mustn’t get caught up in the rat race of life and simply brush it aside, but rather spend some time doing what Plato encourages….actually examining our life, asking ourselves the hard questions of why, how, and what does that mean?

This is actually something I do daily, as I attempt to live into my highest values and the greatest, most authentic expression of who I am. Having said that, this weekend offered me an excellent opportunity to examine my life and to hear what lesson it was trying to teach. As I write this, it’s Sunday evening, but on both Friday and Saturday I had conversations that took me aback and made me really reflect.

I would like to go into greater detail (because if you’ve read my blog with any regularity you know I believe in transparency) but because the conversations involved two people that many of my readers may know (or at least know of) I won’t offer the details but I’ll simply say the overall feeling of the conversations were not positive and both left me feeling anxious and sad.

To make a long story short, let me simply say that I would not consider myself a confrontational person, and as a pretty laid back guy I don’t regularly “have words” with persons, especially those that I care about, so each conversation left me rattled me.  BUT GOD……. Watch this 1, 2, 3 knockout!

-After the second conversation (one was Friday, the other occurred Saturday) I felt the need to “examine” my life and while doing so it became clear to me that there seemed to be one element that both conversations shared . As a result of each conversation and the things the other persons said to me during them, I recognized the predominate feeling felt by me was guilt.  PUNCH ONE!

-As I briefly shared these conversations with the Sunday School Class that I teach…one lady interrupted me and said unequivocally, “Ray, you haven’t forgiven yourself…you have to learn to forgive yourself .” PUNCH TWO.

-When I left that church and went to pick up my son from another church (he had to sing in the children’s choir there) I caught the end of the pastor’s sermon during which he walked to my section, looked straight in my direction and said, “God says there is someone in this section on my left  who is struggling with forgiving themselves. God says you must forgive yourself to free yourself from the past so that you can receive what God has for your future!” PUNCH THREE!!!!

Can the universe communicate to me any clearer?!!! And to be honest, I almost missed it. When the pastor said that, briefly I thought…wow, what a powerful word for someone and then I immediately (thank GOD) said, hey, that’s for me!

To prevent this post from being too long, I’ll stop here for now but I wanted to at least share this testimony with you. I’ll update you later this week because I plan to spend some time praying and meditating on forgiveness of self. I believe, as those of us who grew up in church can attest, religion has done a good job teaching us guilt and confession and repentance but has not taught us what it really means to walk in redemption, forgiveness and grace.

These conversations left me troubled because both persons reached back years and threw some element of the past in my face. Again, not to go into detail because I want to protect their privacy, but the bottom line is this: whatever whomever says to us about what may or may not be true about the past…the fact remains, it’s the past for a reason!

In order for us to move forward in all of the greatness the future holds…we must forgive ourselves into health and wholeness! As Maya reminds us, love liberates…even when (and especially when) that love is directed towards ourselves. We must love ourselves completely, unapologetically, and without condition. For, if we love ourselves, we will liberate ourselves into emotional and spiritual health.

It’s been awhile since I’ve blogged regularly so please pardon me if I’m a little rusty, but I didn’t want the day to pass without my sharing this with you. I have a few more things to say on this topic so stay tuned (especially I share what is shown to me through this meditation assignment). I pray that as I learn to wholly forgive myself, that I can share some insight that might help you completely do the same. In the meantime, please remember….

This is not the end of our story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. Every morning offers a new mercy….don’t waste yours, reach out and grab it , so you’ll be ready to receive all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2014, Ray Jordan)

Post #74- Living the Simple Life: Keep on Keepin' on!

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Why can’t life be simple? Actually, I believe it can be, but we must first recognize there’s a difference between simple and easy. To create a simple life includes being clear on who you are, what you are called to do and be in the world and living from that deep sense of authenticity. In turn, this will allow all other added pressures and expectations to fall to the side. If we can do this….viola! We’ll have a simple life….It’s simple…but it sure ain’t easy.

Yesterday I had a poolside chat with friends during which I explained that life is not linear as we would likely assume, but it is cyclical (Eastern religion and philosophy has always pointed this out). Our lives aren’t a consecutive series of events but rather cyclical patterns meant to teach us, evolve us, and pull us into our best selves. In other words, God, the great teacher, never fails us….we’re just given the same exam over and over and over again until we learn the lesson and pass the test. So, in order to have the “simple life” which in my estimation is truly the good life, we must become aware of the patterns of our life and identify any issue, hurt or behavior that seems to periodically rear its ugly head.

This week I suffered a great disappointment and while the disappointment involves other people I in no way place my feelings and experience at their feet. Instead I own it as a pattern or cycle I need to recognize and process. All I have ever wanted in life is to be loved….truly and genuinely cared for (but isn’t that really what we all want). This pattern of feeling unloved began early as I often felt both abandoned by my parents and isolated from and rejected by my peers. As a result, my whole life has been spent trying to belong to “that” group.

As a child that group was my white peers who never let me forget that I was black. As an adolescent that group was my circle of black friends, who never quite let me forget that I wasn’t black enough or masculine enough. As a young adult that group was a church of fundamental Pentecostals for whom I molded myself into a dynamic Pentecostal preacher. Here I actually felt most at home because church has always been my refuge, yet I regularly felt like an imposter…a fish out of water because I was gay. Today that group is the “gays” with their funny ways and impossible expectations. They have a language that’s all their own and an incredible judgmental-ness that worships fashion, youth, external appearance and a self-indulgent party culture that can eat you up and spit you out if you’re not careful. Now, I say none of this as a harsh judgment, but simply to share the deep pain I have experienced trying to be a part of that group, whichever group it may be at the time.

I have long come to the conclusion that I will never be a part of that group, nor this group or their group, while I do feel connected to many of them in some way I know I will never be a card-carrying member. This recognition, while sobering, doesn’t necessarily soften the pain of being left out, neglected or even rejected; nor does it necessarily comfort the blow of unmet expectations, hurt feelings, and moments of confusion and loneliness.

So, what is one to do? I guess the only thing one can do: Live a simple life. Keep living…keep loving and keep being yourself. If you’re (I’m) misunderstood…so be it. If you’re (I’m) a really good friend but you never seem to receive the same kind of friendship in return…so be it. If you (I)  never seem to fit into any particular group because you’re (I’m) just a little too big for the confines of limited stereotypes and rigid cliques, keep being yourself, (myself) because in the words of Dr. Keith Kent, and made famous by Mother Teresa:

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and some true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough.
Give the best you've got anyway.

You see, 
in the final analysis it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.

Furthermore….This is not the end of our story. Our best days are not behind us; they are ahead of us. Keep your head up and keep on keepin’ on , so you’ll ready to receive all of the #bigthingscoming.

NOTE: If you’re new to the site it might be helpful to read the first (introductory) post. Also, feel free to post your questions or comments here and you can always reach out to me on Twitter @raycjordan using the hash tag #bigthingscoming.

(Copyright, 2014, Ray Jordan)