Trust in your beliefs

By Dan Barber

I believe that old "Faustian bargain" if one sells their soul for fame or fortune then they will eventually have hell to pay… whether you have faith or not, our history shows us that this statement is true.

There are those who obtained what they thought was very important to them only to discover that it caused great pain.  Perhaps they reached the pinnacle of their life early and then had to live on for many years on the downside of that high to the end, always missing what they once had.  How many once famous people have recognizable faces but seem to be adrift because no one cares about them anymore because their talent burned itself out, or they no longer have a purpose in people’s lives.

I thought that I had a goal once… a goal that could have destroyed my loved ones and myself if I had achieved it. Fortunately, I discovered the path towards that goal was fun, but the goal was not really my life’s purpose.  

For a long time, I thought that I needed to have someone write a script for me to have a personality or purpose. I discovered that I have a whole team of writers giving me purpose. My entire family is the team who give me my personality and purpose. I am very grateful for that discovery. My destiny was and is my family.

Our children and grandchildren give us our immortality if we can leave them with good memories  and life lessons that they can pass on to their descendants. Only then the memory of us will live on long after we are dust. I like being referred to as Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Brother, Uncle, Cousin and Friend. But with some of the grandkids living nearby, one of the titles can be exciting. There was once a television advertisement on when a little boy cries out “Grandpa!”… That startled me every time, it woke me from my nap quicker than anything because I thought that something has happened with one of the kids and they were calling for my help!

As I stated in an earlier blog, if our heavenly reward is to relive our life experiences over and over again as if it was the first time, then we need to create as many good experiences as we can right here on this earth. Don’t drag dreadful experiences to the grave with you because wouldn’t it be hell to have to relive those bad memories for eternity? I recently shared a thought on social media... “God will forgive you…just ask. Then forgive yourself and peace will follow.” I believe that.

A very smart young lady that I know told me that it is very hard going through life being angry all the time… it is much more fun to be happy, while, in the process of forgiving yourself, you might want to also forgive those who you might be angry with.