The Why

I recently went on a trip, that opened my eyes up to a place of growth I never really knew I was looking for.

I have written about having faith in God's plan, and trusting in the uncommon and unplanned, but for me I have been struggling with feeling like I have something to do, something I can put into this relationship, or the feeling that something is missing.

- the feeling that something was missing within my heart, was weighing heavily on me and then, I heard the words, "What is your why". Why am I doing what I am doing, what is the the motivation or reasoning, and am I expecting to get anything out of it. I think all of us can relate to wanting good to come out of us putting good in, we do something praiseworthy or Christ inspired and then we wait for a reward, now this is not something to feel bad about doing. WE ALL DO THIS, but when asked what my "why" is, I realized that every time I do something or plan something with an expectation or recognition on the other end, I am not doing it for the right reason. We all want to be fueled by God, we all want to treat others like Jesus, and give and lead a God loving life, but where we can get stuck ( and this includes me big time), is sometimes we think we are doing it for God, when there is a hidden motive that we don't realize until further down the road. Are we giving because that is what we are called to do or are we giving, hoping someone saw it and will give us small praises.

Even small things like getting loved ones flowers, or writing a heart felt note! Now this is murky water we are swimming in because, I am not saying, don't do good deeds if they aren't honest, we are human beings and if we have to muster up some extra patience and kindness every once in a while- guess what- that is going to happen!! Also sometimes our brains get the best of us and we do things we don't really know why!I am just saying that when we truly spread God's kingdom and bring Christ to others, that fulfillment that we are looking for won't come from other people or praise, it will come from God. In every area, Why are we-in this relationship, at this job, stressing about this, etc, in every situation,

If we start to think like this, something inside of us will change, our hearts will soften our spirits will brighten and our thinking will grow closer to God. And our relationships will improve as well, because we won't be looking for praise from the other person, we can just focus on loving them and caring for them and celebrating life. It will result in and all around more love filled life!

It is May 1st, I am proposing a challenge for the month of May. Every night before I go to bed, I am going to write down 4 positive things about my day, and any challenges I faced. Then I am going to identify "my whys" for each situation. For one month, I challenge you to do the same, because I think it's easy to notice the big stuff and the why's behind those, but if we can start looking for God behind all the little "whys", we might grow closer to God in ways we didn't even know.

So. What is your why?

If you want to participate in the May challenge, I would love to receive emails about your experience!!!

Happy May!