Turn It Around!

Summertime! It's full of new opportunities. Just ask my granddaughter Jessica who is taking Driver's Ed. Each day this fifteen-year-old gets a chance to drive. She has confidence because I've been letting her drive since she received her learning permit around Christmas time. She's logged over 30 hours so far. She is preparing for new things. She doesn't think to herself, "I can't do this. I don't have those skills. This is not in my comfort zone." No, instead she thinks, "I know how to do this. I'm equipped." She is very confident but not always 100% secure. She is very cautious when she backs out of the garage, for which I'm very grateful. She hasn't wanted to drive in the Kansas City traffic until recently, but now she feels empowered and ready to do anything. She'll take the risk, and I guess since she only has a learner's permit and drives my car, I'll have no choice but to take it with her....lol! The point is that she is open to try something new, and I support her all the way in this.

Someone else who was willing to try something new is Steve Jobs. I have been reading about the new iPhone, and the technical difficulties that Steve Jobs is having with it. I know full well that he will work them out. He's had setbacks in the past, but none of them has kept him from making Apple one of the most successful companies in the world.

He started at the age of 20 to make computers in his parents' garage. Within 10 years, his company was worth two billion dollars. However, his own board of directors fired him from his company. He didn't become a victim though. Instead he became a victor by building up two more successful companies and selling them for billions. Then Apple brought him back and he turned that company into a huge success story.

My husband loves Apple and has it now for his personal PC. He recently purchased the iPad and sings its praises all the time. Where would Apple be today if Steve Jobs had become discouraged, gave up, or just settled when he had a setback? When something didn't work out, he tried another way until it did. He kept believing, and my husband, who is a big Apple fan, is glad he did.

That's the kind of faith I want to have. I know that life is not always fair, but I also know that God is fair. Nothing can keep me from my divine destiny except my own self. If I have the right attitude, nothing can stop me. Isaiah 60:1 says, "Arise, shine; for your light has come."

Joel Osteen paraphrases scripture when he says, "[God] lifts the fallen. He gives hope to the hopeless. His mercy is bigger than any mistake we could ever make." He also says, "God has a plan....don't worry....what you think is a setback is really a setup for a greater comeback.....when you face an adversity, that setback, that disappointment, you don't know where it's taking you. You've heard the saying, 'When you're down to nothing, God is up to something.'.....when it looks like your darkest hour, God will turn it around, restore you, and bring you out to your brightest hour!"

Oh, yes, I needed to know that today. Thanks, Lord!

Love and Light,
Patty