Stop, Look, and Listen

Today, I was fortunate enough to attend one of Lacresha Hayes' free online healing seminars. It was wonderful. There wasn't very many of us there, maybe 13 or so. I really hate that, but it was good.

She had one section she entitled "Stop, Look, and LISTEN" that dealt with processing information in a way that gives us hope rather than robs us of hope. That was my favorite section because most times, we allow life to drive us down paths we later regret. For a long time, I was in the passenger seat of my life. I let one thing lead to another and another. I rarely interrupted the path. I just followed. Today, I learned that rather than follow, I'm suppose to give my life direction and guidance. I'm supposed to drive through the power of God.

Though I still don't quite profess to be a Christian, I am a believer. I know that God is our ultimate authority. As she talked to us about guiding our lives, even our pains, I was amazed at some of the other responses from the women. Many of them were in the shoes I used to be in. Pain was to me, and is to them, an evil perpetrated upon us without our permission. It isn't something I welcomed. It isn't something they welcome. Still, I've learned over the past couple of years that there's no use in complaining about it. Rather, I should celebrate my freedom from it.

Lacresha's theory was to embrace it as a motivating force to do good to others, to live again, and to minister to the needs of other hurting people. Who wants to embrace pain? But, when I stop, look and listen, I realize that it has only been when I embraced the pain of my past that I was empowered to live beyond it.

Stop stood for us no longer allowing ourselves to think wrong thoughts and focus on bitterness.
Look was for us to take a moment to look at where God had already brought us through. It was for us to really look at what we were doing to ourselves by hanging on to the past.
Listen was for us to quiet our hearts and hear God. I'm going to try it all this week. I'll keep you posted.