Blinkers: Consider Them an Opportunity for Great Joy

Today, on my way to school, I had a moment, while switching lanes, where I wished that my blinker would turn itself off after I switched lanes... I mean- it turns off after a turn, why shouldn't it be able to do it after a lane-switch? After a second, I suddenly brought my thought process to a quick and complete halt.

HOLD THE PHONE.

Did I seriously just complain to myself about the fact that I have to flick my blinker off after I switch lanes? Because THAT is pathetic. My own laziness just blew my mind.

Words that my pastor spoke on Sunday resurfaced in my mind. He was elaborating on a point about "training on the little things." As an example, he then started to talk about his workout regimen that he start a few months ago. "It's amazing," he said, "What people will do to get out of a little work. They'll drive around in a parking lot for five extra minutes versus just parking and walking from a parking space that might be near the end of the lot! They'll wait ten minutes for an elevator instead of just taking the dang stairs!" A few moments later, he brought up another profound point: our fore-fathers didn't have to exercise... because they lived!

His words got me thinking (I know- scary stuff.) These days, how much trouble do people go through to "make things easier" on themselves? And at that point, are they really making it easier at all? What would it look like if people sucked it up and stopped taking the easy way out? Would more people pack lunches instead of eating fast food? Would more people take the stairs? Would less people smoke cigarettes? Would graduation percentages rise?

The possibilities don't stop there. This laziness goes beyond physical short cuts. What about your spiritual life? How many times do we, as Christians, slack when it comes to spiritual advancement? Personally, the times I slack far outweigh the times I suck it up. Do I usually just read the verses on the screen or do I actually break out my actual Bible (gasp. I don't just mean the app.) and physically spend some time in God's tangible word? In the morning, do I usually hit the snooze button once or twice, or do I actually get up and spend a few minutes in God's word to kick start my day? And beyond that, what would it look like if I was joyful about bettering myself in these ways?

I'm obviously not guiltless on the subject. No one is. But the identification of the guilt is as good a place as any to begin a spiritual workout routine. So come on- flick the blinker off, start training on the small things, and find the joy in the mission you've been given.

"Dear brothers and sister, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." 

James 1: 2-4

Take a Second

You know that movie? The one with that really good-looking actor? And he just totally makes the movie? Picture him. Strictly for the sake of example, I'll post a picture of Ryan Gosling:

You're welcome.

 Let's dream big here for a second, because dreaming big is okay. Let's say one day, that man hears about you; a friend of a friend of a friend mentions you to him:

"Yeah," the friend says, "I agree that the riot was definitely overboard. But I know this girl, who wrote this interesting blog post about the whole situation. You should read it."

McDreamy nods his head. "Yeah. I'd like to."

The friend pulls out his phone, quickly brings up the post, and the two read through it.

"Wow. She's pretty talented," McDreamy states. "You know her?"

"Yeah. Her cousin married my mom's step brother... Or something like that."

"Hmm."

Over the next few days, McDreamy can't get over you. He doesn't know why, but he keeps rereading your blog, trying to find out what you're about. He thinks you're witty. Smart. Beautiful. He thinks you're really going places.

But you're just average, like me. You might think you are pretty, good at writing, and nice, but beyond that, you're unsure if you are really going big places.

But what you don't know is that the talented, successful, good-looking McDreamy can't get you off his mind. The guy who made that chick flick the one to beat. The guy in the majority of pins on the "Man Candy" Pinterest boards! He's got his eye on you.

Snapback to reality. Collect yourself. Scenario number two.

Say you want to be a writer (yes, in case you haven't caught on, these are my fantasies.) You've got this one writer you look up to; she's brilliant. Let's just choose J. K. Rowling, the one sensational ideas "just come to." (Not that I'm jealous or anything.)

Say she runs into your fiction blog one day when surfing the internet... (Do I know for sure that millionaires such as Ms. Rowling do this? Of course not, but this is a fantasy so it doesn't really matter.) She really likes what she reads. She thinks you've got incredible potential. For one fateful second, she's even slightly jealous of your story. She thinks you'd make an excellent co-author.

The famous, wealthy, brilliant author wants to get to know you.

Snapback. While those ideas are nice to dwell on, I've got an even better one.

There's this other Guy. He's an artist, author, director and more. Let's just say, his resume would pretty much knock out every contender without problem. And you're all for that; you like intelligence. He has painted thousands of sunsets, each one different from the last. He's designed systems so complex that it has taken thousands of years and hundreds of scientists to decipher them. But he didn't just design systems; in fact, He designed everything. But the wild thing is, He doesn't just want to know about you, He wants to really know you. He wants to know every nook and cranny of who you are, good and the bad. He wants you to lay in bed at night and tell him about your day. He wants you to tell him about your problems so that He can help you. He wants you to want to know Him too.

God's love for us is so powerful. It can do more things than love from a movie star or author could ever do. So why do we downplay it so much? 

"God loves you, Glennleigh."

"I know. I've heard it a million times..."

vs.

"Glennleigh! Ryan said he wants to get to know you!"

"What?! Oh my gosh! IS this real life?!"

Take a second to realize that God's resume is more impressive than Ryan Gosling's will ever be. God's love can do more for you than love from any man or woman. Don't depreciate love from the greatest Author, Director, and Artist of all time; it's a big deal. 

This love is extended to everyone. So don't waste your time on other fantasies, because you and I are the target of the the greatest love story of all time.

"And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."

Ephesians 3: 18-20

Inspiring to Serve

Bbbrrrrinnnngggg. Wait for the second ring. Brrrrr- "Joann's Fabric and Craft store, this is Glennleigh speaking. How may I inspire you?"

The answer call of a true Joannian. We aren't actually required to answer the phone like that, but the happy employees do. Of course, there is the fair share of employees who work there simply to have a job, but many of them work there because they enjoy the atmosphere. My story is half and half. I needed a job to help pay for college, so when I was job searching, the crafter in me led me to Hobby Lobby and Joann's as my first options. 

Joann's hired me, then a little over a month later, Hobby Lobby hired me... But that's another story for another time. Once I got the hang of things at Joann's, I enjoyed working there. I like my employee discount, being surrounded by fabric, customers who asked for my opinion, coworkers who liked me. But the true reason I like Joann's was not because of what I could do for people there, it was because of what they did for me. 

Honestly, I've never had very much of a servant's heart. I've prayed for one, and yeah, for a couple of weeks, it stuck, but it was kind of an Elmer's-Glue kind of stick, not a hardcore-hot-glue kind of stick. But at Joann's when I walk through those sliding glass doors, my life no longer was about me; it was about my customers. I was put in a situation where I was forced to help people. Except instead of faking a smile, I had a real one on my face; these people appreciated my help. 

Now, I realize that I do make money- a whopping quarter aboveminimum wage- holla! But seriously, I also realized that going above and beyond just being nice to people made me feel wonderful! And it made them feel good too. 

I am supposed to be there to "inspire" people, but more than my customers know, they've inspired me. I'll admit that I'm not always "servant-minded," but I am a whole lot better than I used to be.

"The Big Idea"

I have a theory (kind of like how Channing Tatum has theories about moments... I could spend a moment letting him explain that one to me.) It's about "The Big Idea." When author J. K. Rowling was asked about her inspiration for Harry Potter, her response was: "It just came to me." It just came to her. A story of gargantuan proportions, worldwide fame, and the undying love of millions of fans JUST came to her?! The jealousy building up in my stomach makes me want to punch her in the face right before I shake her hand and tell her how much I adore her books.

As a writer, the thought of an idea just coming to you is not that uncommon. I see stories everywhere I look. In a history class, I read about how American families were forced to house British soldiers in their homes before the War for Independence; I see a story of forbidden love between the baker's daughter and the soldier who was pressured into the armed forces by his family. I see an old building on the side of the interstate; I think of a safe house during a zombie apocalypse.

However, these are hardly as impressive as the story of the Chosen One. I also understand that Harry Potter went through editor after editor to get where it is today. I understand that Rowling was a few years my senior when she wrote the story. But. From the moment that the story of Harry Potter took its first breath, it had potential to grow and be the story to beat. And six years after the Dealthy Hallow release, it still is the one to beat.

So here I sit, Summer of Twenty-Thirteen, waiting on my Big Idea. I realize it's a lot to ask for at eighteen. So I'd settle for a small flame of a story to keep my occupied. Or a spark. Or, good heavens, just a warm spot in this cold abyss! Woe. Is. Me.

For starters...

First off, Woe Is Me is not a blog for me to complain about the life I lead, because honestly, I have no reason to complain; I am healthy, educated, employed, loved, and happy. When I chose the name for this blog, I knew it might mislead people. The big, deep deciding factor that made me chose it anyway was the fact that when I typed it in, it was available. Beyond that, I was feeling a little Shakespearean, so thus, the name of my blog.

So now that I have explained what Woe Is Me is not, let me take a second to explain what Woe Is Me is. Today's date is July 18th and the year is 2013. I graduated high school about sixty days ago, and I start college in about forty days. The highlights of my summer have been working as much as I can at Joann's Craft and Fabric store ("How may I inspire you?"), going to the zoo, and crafting/sewing/painting like a pro. The lowlights of my summer may seem to contradict the highlights, but bare with me and I'll explain. Lowlights include lack of time with friends, lack of time with family, lack of motivation, and lack of creativity.

Let me pause here to explain something about myself. Me, I'm a writer. It's my passion; everywhere I look, I see stories, I see ideas, I see characters. I've completed about three of eighty-six stories lines- talk about crappy percentages- but nevertheless, it's what I do and what I hope to do in the future.

Refocusing on Summer Twenty-Thirteen, creativity and ideas for writing have completely dried up, which is a problem, in case you couldn't guess. I have racked my brain for hours, searching for that one story that I could run with. I've paced around my room until midnight, trying to find a spark for a story. I've forced myself to work on story lines I just felt were "okay ideas." However, nothing has really worked, which is about like banging my head against a wall for a couple hours every night.

I apologize for my babbling, but without further ado, I will now explain why I've created Woe Is Me. As I sink to the bottom of the barrel, I am desperate for anything to flow back on top. Here I will elaborate on ideas that come to mind, experiences that I have, passions I want to share, or anything that may pull from dark, hopeless pit of writer's block. Of course, things may seem a bit more dramatic than they should be, but that is because no story is successful without a healthy dosage of drama. No, I'm not really groveling around, completely unhappy with my life, screaming "woe is me!" during situations where things don't go my way. I use the phrase with a sarcastic connotation; I know people are in worse situations, but looking at mine with a sarcastically dramatic view reminds me to snap back to the reality that I am going to be FINE.