In "Paradise Lost", the seventeenth century author John Milton included the following revelation, "the mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heav'n of Hell, a Hell of Heav'n." How true that statement is, in our lives we make a choice each day, it is either storming and gloomy outside or the weather is simply replenishing the nourishment necessary for all living things to grow and prosper. It's a mindset shift. As Milton so aptly put it, your mind makes the call, is today going to be a blessing or a curse? Will you see storm clouds or will you embrace the power and awesomeness of God's thunder and lightning? In the morning will you complain that you have to get up and go to work, or will you realize how fortunate you are to be able to get up and that you have a job to go to that provides you with the bed that you are getting out? It's all about perspective when it comes down to it and your personal mindset is the tool that will allow you to see the glass half full if you will only look at that glass with the right set of eyes.
Is it easy to shift your mindset to the realm of looking on the bright side? Well I would tell you that it can be an overwhelming task if you don't have someone in your corner that can coach you and support you with that ever-present umbrella when the storm clouds are moving in at a rapid pace. For some people those storm clouds seem to have their GPS locked in directly over their heads. For others, it's not even storm clouds, it's more like a permanent environment of despair. Health, medical situations, life events that are dehumanizing or tragic in scope, financial, social, or any other personal calamity can create scenarios that allow us to say, "Yeah that's easy for you to say, but my situation is different". It's Easy for me to sit here and say "You can do it! You've just got to put your mind to it!" You're right, I don't know your life situations and I haven't "walked a mile in your shoes" as the saying goes, but I have overcome adversities in my own life that could have spiraled me downward into the pits of a personal Hell as Milton described in his novel.
My situations and your situations will absolutely be different, there is no doubt about it, but isn't that the way we are constructed physically and mentally? No person has the exact DNA in comparison to yours, so you are unique, thus your situations in life are unique to you. Make sense? You were given the set of circumstances that you were dealt because you were wired in such a manner that you can handle it! You were not created with a lack of substance that would not see you through whatever hardship or tragedy you are facing in life. No, instead you were given the exact tools that you will need to overcome anything and everything that comes before you in life. It's all about whether you have the right perspective to face it no matter what.
Many times, you may be told that "God won't give you more than you can handle" referring to I Corinthians 10:13 where Paul encourages the church in Corinth that God will be there with them and see them through whatever they are facing. That is the key. You on your own can't overcome the adversities in your life. The trials, tribulations, and tragedies that you face are too much to overcome on your own. That is why so many people are living in despair, broken, and hopeless. It is in your DNA to overcome life's obstacles, you just have to have your coach in your corner re-framing the storm clouds you are facing, and picking you up when you fall down.
When we allow our mind to frame our situation it may seem insurmountable, a realistic "Hell of Heav'n" situation. You have to be strong and that strength my friend comes not from human sources, but instead from "Heavenly" sources. Having the mindset that the "Hell" you are living through is just the pathway to the "Heav'n" you are headed towards is what it takes to survive and thrive through the storms of life with the right perspective. Knowing that you do not have to travel that journey alone and that you have a comforter alongside you as you walk life's pathway makes it all doable. I personally realize that without the support of my Heavenly Father I would not be able to face the obstacles set before me and I most definitely will not survive the storms of life that will eventually be headed my way. For me I John 4:4 says it best, "For greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world."
If you can't see anything but despair in front of you each day, I challenge you to change your perspective. How? Well you won't do it on your own, you have to have a positive message permeating your mind each step along the way. How do you get that positive message? Well it is readily available for each of us. We just have to ask Him to be with us, to support us, and to change our mindset to one of seeing the opportunity in all of life's challenges. You were made just the way you are for a purpose, you just have to be willing to allow life's Coach to see you through to the other side of where your mind currently resides. It's a choice, you can make a bad situation out of the "Hell" you are living through, or with the help of our Lord and Savior, you can walk through the "valley of the shadow of death" and realize that whatever the world intended to be bad, God has a purpose with good intentions for anything I may be going through. The journey may or may not be for my benefit, but most definitely, it is for the benefit of someone else that you will encounter in your life's journey. I will gladly walk through the storm because I know the path I walk is not solely for my benefit, and I know that I am not walking alone! I have chosen to control my mind and use where I am to help me get to where I want to be! That you will join me is my prayer.
Coach Carter
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