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"The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have
sought and found out how to serve." Albert Schweitzer
WHEN WILL I BE HAPPY?
I will begin to experience feelings of joy,
contentment with my life as it is,
and peace inside myself only as....
*....I realize that I have no power to make either myself
or anyone else truly happy (much less joyful)
by what I do or say;
*....I repent of trying to manipulate others into
meeting my needs as I chose to meet or not meet theirs
(and thereby get them to meet my own need
for acceptance and approval);
*....I repent of being weak-willed when confronted by
(even much-loved) stronger or needier people who want
to take something (time or goods or space or energy)
from my life that should be reserved for God
and the use He has for that thing;
*....I repent of doubting that God's plan for each
individual life, even the lives of those I love most dearly,
can be complete without involving me and what I can
do or say to "help things along";
*....I repent of giving in or giving up when what God is
asking me to do is to give something or someone or
some situation over to Him to take care of;
*....I resolve to walk in a different direction in all
my relationships, in the purposeful direction of ministry
rather than either subtle manipulation or
the naive enablement of another's flesh;
*....I replace my manipulative and enabling behaviors with ones that reflect the high value I place on the independence and maturity of those I love and on the work of God in them (apart from anything I can do or say) to mature them and make them just like Jesus;
*....I renew my commitment to the Father to listen carefully to His voice and no other (not especially to my own guilt and shame and despair and fear or to the demands of others that I respond to those things rather than to His call) in choosing to enter into the service of others;
*....I rely on the unconditional love of God for me and
for others to meet all my needs and theirs and so draw on
that great Love as I freely choose to offer myself in an act
of self-donating love to the service and good of another
for Christ's sake as -- and only as -- the Lord directs.
If you'd like to know more about the idea of repentance
-- the kind that's based in an experience of God's grace and not in shame or guilt --
my friend and one-time pastor John Glenn explains it very well here:
Our True Identities: Who We Are In Union With Christ
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After 35+ years in public ministry as missionary, pastoral counselor, homeschooling mentor, writer and editor, pro life activist (and more!), Georgia Ana Larson now focuses on an internet-based ministry and business founded in grace and expressed through mentoring others who have a similar desire to work from home, nurture a family, build a business and stay faithful to a deep interior Call to have a life of devotion expressed in service, no matter what context. You can read more of her articles at her home site: www.aBrighterCandle.com
Copyright © 2010 Georgia Ana Larson, All rights reserved
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