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Inspirational Thoughts
September 2001
September 2001CHALLENGES
By Shelia ShumateI received a beautiful message on my walk this morning and wanted to share it with you. As some of you know, I have been watching signs from spirit for many years, and today was no exception.
Lance and I were walking early this morning and talking about trusting what we hear within and acting upon that. About that time Lance found a softball and picked it up and asked, “What do you think this means?” I turned the question around and said,”What do you think?” He felt he should be softer in our relationship and also how he presents himself to the world. Then I said, what about us
(people) being the softball, and to remember we sometimes are thrown and we get hit (with a bat) with a challenge. That challenge may be just what we need to propel us to our next level or to send us out in another direction than that which we thought we were going. Think about it. What has just happened to this country, is this not a wake-up call? A wake-up call gets our attention, to ask ourselves questions. What is going on? What am I doing? How am I presenting myself? What is the bigger picture? And so on. What do you feel in your heart at this time? Compassion, grief, disbelief, anger, pain, or hurt, probably all of these and more. All of these feelings are valid. The wake-up call may be a challenge to change direction, however that my look to you. Keep in mind
that love begets love, hate begets hate.This is a time to listen to our hearts, a time to listen to spirit, a time to face the challenges and radiate with God’s love. Remember, when we feel our gut feeling or a sense of, that is our inner knowing, so trust it.
Challenges can bring out our best. Challenges give us an opportunity to use our own inner strength, power and abilities. It may not feel good when we get hit, but think of how far we can go in a short amount of time, when we get hit straight on. I have learned to look at challenges differently than I did many years ago. I have learned so much about who I am and what I am capable of doing and achieving.
Today, take time to look for the signs (softball, animals, nature, words, etc.) regardless of how insignificant they may seem, then ask yourself how it relates to you, listen to self. Take a moment to reflect upon how you see your challenges in today’s world as a positive or a negative experience. Let this be a day to Just Be.
November 2000