battle cry

and all i’ve got to say to you all is

boo hoo.

boo freakin’ hoo.

this is not a poem for once; this is a message i want you to hear clearly. it is meant in love, even if it is in the dour tone that i cannot seem to sweeten no matter how many revisions i make. i’m sorry, it’s my vernacular. (haha, kj!)

you feel as though you are missing something from your life because you have arranged your life around yourself. it’s hard not to do; it’s human nature. but to you all who have your spouses and children, your families, your jobs, your american security: don’t you understand what you have been given, and the power that you have to do something incredible with it?

i share my life with no one, which is difficult, but thank God that i do not lack for purpose and meaning every single day of my life. every day i know exactly why i am here. every day i know that i am still here because He has something yet for me to do. and every day i know that when i am finished the reward will not be for what i have done, but it will be because i am done. i have something definite to look forward to, but i am not waiting for anything to begin. i do not mistake the fact that i am living my life right now.

boohoo. you’re bored with your job. boohoo. your american dream has never come true; you aren’t young or beautiful or fit anymore; you haven’t written your novel or built your empire. boohoo. you are no one’s hero; you have no quest, no battle at which to cry your battle cry. boo. hoo.

you blame the changes in your life. you say that new roles in your life are so demanding that you have no time to be who you used to be, to accomplish the goals that used to be so near and dear to your heart. you are complaining about your complacency, without even recognizing it for what it is.

you don’t seem to understand the gifts you have been given. goodness, you may as well have nothing. starvation in the midst of plenty. that’s this place for you. only the rebellious dwell in a parched land, my friend. or worse, you let these things take over your life and suffocate you; you drown in all these rich blessings that are being showered down upon you.

and it’s not fair. no, it isn’t. so don’t complain about how it hasn’t happened for you. if it hasn’t, it probably wasn’t ever supposed to. if it is supposed to, then go and make it happen.

ask for your eyes to be opened. look around at what you have been given. there are opportunities all around you that you just haven’t had time or care to see. there is a place for you; there is something for you to do. are you prepared? no, i assure you, you are not. you will not be ready for what you are about to see; you cannot realize what will be required of you. it will be hard, it will be new, it will challenge you and even hurt you. but are you equipped? yes, by all means, yes.

the armor of God
finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

now i hope someone of you is honest enough with me to tell me when i’m boohooing too. i do it a lot.