MAXIMIZING OUR EXPERIENCES

Again this comes from my musings in recent times. I have learnt that God orchestrates events in our lives and allows us to go through things and have experiences because that is His principal way of teaching us valuable life lessons. Hidden within the fabric and intricate connections of our daily experiences are great lessons that we need to learn in order to change, get better and thus move to our next levels in life. You see, what qualifies us for our next level is our preparedness for that next level. Some of the blessings we crave and pray for, we are unable to access because character-wise, we cannot handle them. If we get there now, in our present state, we will not be able to sustain the lifting because we haven't grown enough to be able to handle the demands of that level. So you see, daily, God allows us to have experiences in our interactions with people. The bulk of these experiences are anything but pleasant. Misunderstandings, misrepresentations, uncooperativeness, outright scheming against us sometimes, not to mention blatant threats and the wearisome realization that you are not liked, accepted or wanted, due to no fault of yours in many cases. Sounds familiar? These represent the bulk of our daily experiences in the work place, church, community, family, school etc. Well, the sooner you realized that what times like this call for is introspection on your part, the better for you. DON'T WASTE YOUR EXPERIENCES! Learn from then.

No matter how 'right' you are and how wrong the others are, there is a crucial lesson for you to learn in from that experience. Crucial because once you have learnt a lesson or two from it, you are no longer the same! You have become a changed and better person. And guess what? You have passed that level and have qualified for the next! But you see, most times what we do is find faults and shift blames. For us, it’s always the other person's fault; never ours! It’s hardly ever our responsibility! Friends, God teaches us lessons from experiences, but most times we don't see them because they come wrapped up in PEOPLE! Some of whom we can't stand and don't like! Only when we learn the lessons and pass the tests do we qualify for lifting. It’s the test of strength of character which is absolutely indispensable in our quest for promotions and liftings. So this week and henceforth, look at the experiences that come your way differently. Look beyond the person(s) involved and don't personalize issues! As hard as it may be, ask yourself, 'what lesson can I learn from this situation? In what ways did I contribute, albeit remotely to this problem? What could I have done differently that may have brought about a different outcome? What would I do differently if in a similar situation in the future? Honestly, if we adopt this approach genuinely, we will all keep learning and growing and changing and getting better by the day; and oh wouldn't our world just become a better place with more grown-ups! This is not about who is right or wrong in any given situation. It is about who is ready to pay the price for a new lease of life. Please make your experiences count for good this week and always, by learning life lessons from them thereby becoming a person of strong character who will scale new heights and remain upwardly mobile because you have what it takes to last on that high level. 

Great week ahead!