The meeting place was the same as it's always been...Panera Bread. It had been a number of days since PV2 Pete and I had spoke with the Holidays and all. It was time for us to catch up with each other since we went into our "shells" by having spent time with family, traveling and shopping. The aroma of Pete's iced mocha was prevalent as we began our conversation. "Good holidays?", I asked. "We're you able to have some good time to reflect and absorb everything around you?"
"You know sir, it was a far better Christmas than I thought it was going to be", he replied. "I tried to slow down and appreciate it all. Not expect too much, but just enjoy being with people. And you know what? I think that made the time that much better. I really couldn't have expected anything more. But right after Christmas, you'll never believe what I got involved with". "I give", asking with a note of hesitation. "Politics....can you believe it", Pete said with a smile.
"I went to a couple of rallys and really got fired up", he continued. " I liked Ron Paul and Rick Santorum. But then when we started getting closer to Caucus Night, I went with Santorum. I'll tell you what. I got an adrenaline rush...and I hadn't had one since coming home from Afghanistan. My blood was pumping and I was all excited and so were alot of other people. It was awesome", he exclaimed. Hmmmmm, I thought. Who would have thought with all Pete had gone through since coming home, that politics would be an answer?
"Pete, you surprise me man", I shot back. "When I least expect it from you, I can expect it. So you're telling me you're a Santorum fan now, huh?" "Yup. I might just hustle down to South Carolina and do some beating on doors for him. I like what he says and he strikes me as being so straight forward and honest. I like that", Pete suggested.
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| And Your Purpose Is? |
Pete had opened the can of worms on what we could and could not talk about by his mention of politics. So with that in mind, I said, "have you been able to ready any more of "A Purpose Driven Life"? I'm curious if you're sudden awakening has fueled your enthusiasm in other areas." "Sir, you wouldn't believe it.....I read Chapter Two a couple of nights ago. And a number of things are starting to make sense." As I sipped my lattee, I too smiled. Pete was hungry and his sense of direction was becoming apparent. With those thoughts, we dove into a discussion on Chapter Two of Rick Warren's book. Here are some of the questions from "What On Earth Am I Here For":
Have you ever really felt God’s deep love for you personally?
I wrote a song once about my son that starts out: “Christopher knows Christopher’s toes.” I came up with this idea when he was six months old and sitting in an infant seat with his little feet sticking up in the air. And in a flash of a moment, I caught him noticing his feet as if he had never discovered them before. He was totally surprised to find that whatever these things were in front of him, they were attached to his body.
Have you ever stopped and noticed how intricate your hands are—how the joints work and how the flexible skin that covers your blood and tissue can take such a beating, and the way the thumb and fingers work together to do so many complicated tasks—and wondered how you could be an accident?
King David wrote: “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). In spite of whatever might seem pointless to you right now about your life, isn’t there something that speaks of a love behind it? If we were made, what does our maker think of us? When you make something, what do you think of it? Are you proud? Do you like it?
How would your life change if you began to live each day confident that God loves you deeply and has a purpose for your life?
When I am aware of a purpose, it makes me more focused. Life isn’t just random. The little things I do fit into a bigger plan. Even if I’m not sure exactly what that plan is, I know God does and that adds more significance to everything.
And believing God loves me is probably the biggest thing of all. It’s hard, because I don’t think I always believe it myself. But when I realize God loves me unconditionally, it saves me from always trying to earn acceptance from other people. I think I can be more useful and less needy as a result.
If this is new to you, try it on. Try on the thought that God loves you—even the things about you that you hate. How would that change how you think about yourself? And if He made you with a purpose, wouldn’t you want to find out what that was? You owe it to yourself to at least go down this road and entertain the possibility. Because if it is true, it could be the greatest news in the whole world for you.
Think Pete and I didn't have some great dialogue pertaining to the questions above? For sure, it made our day...and gave it some special purpose.
Still the thought was in my mind. POLITICS. Pete, you're something else.
YGG,
John
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