From Victim to Survivor to Thriver

Let me tell you about my Jade doggy and our walks. She is a fine walker for a short-legged Corgi.  I compare her to Gimli, the dwarf, in the Lord of the Rings...great on short sprints but miserable on long distances.  Picture this.  If she is bored or uninterested in walking the neighborhood, she walks behind me, reluctantly, with her head down in the smells of other dogs.  At our local state park, she is engaged to the fullest with all the smells and sounds.  She loves going at full speed with her head lifted while not missing a smell or small vole on the ground. I have a hard time keeping up with her.

As Jade and I walk, I am thinking of what use to be, what is now and what may be in my future life.  I use to be a victim; blown about by every wind of circumstance, what people thought of me or didn't think of me.  Today you'd meet a secure person who knows who I am.  My identity has been shaped by Whose I am, not who I am.  I simply belong to someone else...Jesus. I am not content to be a survivor of my past, I want to thrive in my present and future.  How about you?  

Aren't you glad I asked?  When I persist in lowering my head to sniff at the bad memories and those current situations that get me down in the dumps, I am not engaged in lifting my head.  When I lift my head and look UP, I am a thriver with a different perspective. 

This is what Jesus says, "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:28 NASB. He talks of the signs of his second coming prior to this.  He warns his disciples not to miss the signs by walking with their head down.  

Is your head bowed down with worry, distraction, fear and misery over your circumstances?  Look up and see the signs, not only of Jesus second coming but His presence now.  Be a survivor and thriver.
Thriving in Jesus,
Nancy B