Time Treasure Talent and HOPE

What comes first?

What is the most important person, place or thing in your life? Let’s go ahead and go through the traditional litany of superficial answers to this age old question. When ask what is A NUMERO ONE in your life most people without hesitation say God, then going on down the list they include family, friends, neighbors, pet, etc. You can fill the list in any way that makes you feel the best right this moment.

The true litmus test in finding out what is most important in our lives is where and how we spend our time, treasure, and talent (TTT). If God is number one does your distribution of TTT support this claim? Continue down your list of most important things and see where each item you listed truly falls.

This simple little test is nothing more than a spiritual mental exercise to get you to thinking about life in general. The real reason for this writing is to help guide you away from things and more toward life experiences. How often do you buy something in the hopes of getting you out of the funk that life has placed you in? A purchase that is supposed to make you happy again would be like drinking too much to help avoid the pain in your life. Both leave you empty and still chasing the elusive lottery of life that is going to put you back on track to face the challenge you so eagerly try to escape.

Experiences on the other hand can leave you with a lifetime of stories that can carry on for generations to come. An experience can be something as insignificant as visiting with friends and sharing silly stories. It can also be something as important as a once in a lifetime opportunity to check an item off the bucket list. Whatever it may be I will say that most experiences trump material purchases.

Now the real message that you have probably been searching for in this reflection. I get many emails a week from people that are responding to the reflections I write. Most are positive, some are negative, and some are an outreach or plea for help. Every now and then you get those emails that literally stop you in your tracks. A couple years back I got an email from a young girl that told me her dad was dying of brain cancer. Her dad had lived a hard life and pretty much ignored her as she grew up. Her parents had divorced and she was an only child with little to no family that had any interest in helping them. She went on to say that no matter how her dad treated her he was still her dad and she loved him very much. It became her mission as a 16 year old to make her dads final months a time of reconciliation, spiritual formation, and some fun experiences.

I have to tell you that over a short period of time I was introduced to her dad via email and of all things his name was Rocky (seriously). I watched from a far Rocky falling in love with life, God, his daughter, as well as what family and friends he had left. This man in a short period of time transformed a life of hard living to a life of soft loving. Rocky gave people the ability to hope again and believe again. I will never forget the email I got from his daughter when Rocky passed. She shared with me this wonderful message. No matter how good or bad we think people are they are still a creation of God. When we show a genuine expression of love towards those that love does not seem to exist God will provide the warmth and strength to press on. She went on to say that no amount of money or items could replace those four months of experiences she shared with her Dad. She watched God transform him into a missionary worker amongst his sphere of influence. God had a purpose for her dad and that purpose is still being lived out today right here right now.

Money can’t buy me love is a true quote however love can sure buy you hope. The person that you feel has affected your life in adverse ways on further review may have been the person that steered your life away from destruction and moved toward one of love and living. Regardless how good or bad, moral or ethical a person is they sometimes have a message that will provide a positive turn in your life.

Every person has a story and every life has potential. Do not spend your precious commodity of time condemning spend it forgiving. Do not carry a grudge so heavy that it weighs you down and moves you away from God. Lay that burden at the foot of the cross and pray that you will have the strength to forgive and be forgiven.

I have now written over 300 of these reflections and they are read in well over 30 countries and at last count by more than 150,000 people. What started out as a time filler while I was going through cancer treatment has now reached people worldwide. It is my goal to always write a message of hope. I will at all times avoid politics or a platform that supports a particular flavor of the day. I simply want people to know that they are important no matter where they find themselves in life. My mission is to help people move away from their past sins and into future hope. I would love to hear from anyone that has been effected one way or the other by something I have written. I am about to finish writing my book Livin A Dream and would love include some stories from you. My personal email is dchildress@livinadream.com

May God’s blessing be with you always

Dale Childress