A Privileged
Life
Ephesians 2
8God
saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this;
it is a gift from God. 9Salvation
is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about
it. 10For we are God’s
masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good
things he planned for us long ago.
I went to a book signing last
week and the author, who has become a friend of mine, had several of the people
who had contributed or had been written about, myself included, were asked to
speak. As each one got up and told a
story of what they had been through, which is why they are passionate about
what they do today, I got very emotional. When it came time for me to speak, I
had no idea what to say. First I felt like a walking book of everything they
were speaking of. I mean, seriously how is it even possible, that all of that
could happen to one person, let alone myself? There it was, all in front of me
at one time, not to mention that I was also facing more surgery, (this very afternoon as a matter of fact) and a shocker in broken trust of someone I looked up to. My Friend Jessica Rector who wrote the book (by the way it’s
called How to live your Greatest Life” spoke for me, when asked, “How is it
that you got through it all?” it was a simple answer of course; even when I did
not really know Him just of Him, God had always been there with me. I look back and recognize distinct moments
when I actually felt His presence and of course He was there for me then.
I use to think everyone had a
story, I mean I really though that everyone had some form of abuse growing up or some type of tragedy,
until I meet a women who was my age and wanted to talk with me. She had read about my life in an article and
it had not just touched her but made her ashamed of her own life. She said she
had never been through anything and in fact has lived a very privileged life so
how was it that I was so positive and she was a mess?
Understand Heaven is not on earth;
life is about lessons and some of us are meant to teach and some, to be taught.
Do not dwell on the “why” did this happen; focus on the lesson. Let go of the thought that this is your Plan
or your doing, because trust me, it is not.
I have lived a life in a
constant state of humble and I have known no other life. What some may view as times of tragedy, I
view as times of triumph. I have lived a
life of Privilege and I continue to do so, but I clearly see that the world has
two definitions of what that means. Did
I wake up one day and into the world of Faith, well yes I really did. I don’t understand it all, it just is and I
don’t even try. It happened and I am eternally grateful that it did. I was not
born believing, nor was I brought up to believe, there was no magical thing or
particular moment that “made me believe”.
It was not a mind over matter (I would try that when I would attended a
church) the only thing that I did different that I had never done before, was
remove the negativity that was around me. I focused on only the positive in
EVERYTHING and in ALL. Then and only
then did it happen; in one moment there was doubt and then there was none. Carlene Altom 5-9-12
Philippians 1
29For you have been
given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of
suffering for him.
Ephesians 4
14Then
we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about
by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to
trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15Instead, we will
speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is
the head of his body, the church. 16He
makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special
work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and
growing and full of love.
