I Would like to talk about a few things: routine, escapes, love, and acceptance. I think it is safe to say that these are foundational “needs” of any person. We look for it in our family and friends from the moment we are born. The term “It takes a village to raise a child” is true on so many levels. These basic needs and much more are met by those who are in our lives and how they meet or don’t meet them will have a lasting effect on a person. As a child grows and matures hopefully they are learning that they can count on their parents and loved ones to be there for them as best as they can and one day realize that only in Christ will these and all other needs be met fully and completely.
Our first five years create the imprint of who we are. The next 10 years continue to shape and mold us and help form the lenses through which we interpret life and make decisions.It is crucial whether our childhoods were mostly positive or mostly negative (always a mixture of both) to be able to look back and see how lies and truths and choices of others impacted us and then make a choice to change ourselves now and move forward. It is now a choice of discovering who I am in Christ and living in THAT truth! Of course we all want to be able to go back in time and have those key moments we want to change, but then we would not be who we are today with the opportunities we have today. There are times in my life God has seemed far away, even non-existent, but He is ALWAYS there just waiting for me to realize it. Life is a journey that God uses to show HIS glory. My life is NOT about me and the success or trials I go through. My life is about God showing himself through me so others can see who He is.
These needs are there to point to the Creator who put them there so we can know Him and know who we are in Him. It is when we look elsewhere to fill these vital God-given needs that difficulties arise. I list escapes as one of the basic needs and there may be some who do not think this a healthy thing, due to the negative connotation that comes with the word “escape.” Everyone needs to escape, to have a break from the stress and even highs of life; a time and/or place to just be calm and relax to rest and reflect and be still. But when the escape becomes an excuse to run from or ignore problems/people or if the escape is a habit that is harmful to the person or others, that is where an escape turns into an unhealthy way of dealing with life. So, all this to say that even in sharing simple life stories, we can see what our base needs are and how we try to meet them on our own back then and even now in adulthood, instead of letting God meet them. These needs in their purest form ARE good and can be met, we just have to take the focus of “ME” and let God take care of us.” – Angela
Angela and I can not begin to express how grateful we are for the 192 /$50 gifts that have been donated so far! We have set in place a fund-raiser called 300 & 50 (please see video). We are looking for 300/ $50 gifts. We are asking for 108 more $50 gifts to further LIFEiLEAD’s Mission and Vision!
OR
Please make out the check to LIFiLEAD and send to:
LIFEiLEAD
PO Box 633
Warrington, PA 18976