Is my life at its Best? ۩

I am never religious and never will be, but in times of slumps and depression and pressure, its a good thing that there are email senders that send in some enlightening and conscience-tingling stories like the excerpt below.  Things at the personal level are not what it seems, I think.....

Excerpt from Joel Osteen’s Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential 

[from an email]

A few years back, I woke up one morning and I had a real strong concern and compassion for an old friend of mine. I hadn’t seen him in years, and hadn’t talked to him for at least fifteen years, but he was one of my best friends growing up. We played a lot of sports and spent a lot of time together.

All day long, I kept thinking about him, for no apparent reason. I was just hoping that he was doing okay. It finally dawned on me that maybe God was speaking to me, and I needed to take action. I decided to give my old buddy a call to say hello and see how he was doing. I had no idea how to get in touch with him. But I finally tracked him down and called him.

My friend answered the phone, and I said, “Hey, man, this is Joel Osteen. I’ve been thinking about you all day long. How have you been doing?”

The phone went completely silent. Not a word. I thought, This is very odd. I didn’t know what was going on, but I stayed on the line. After about fifteen or twenty seconds, I noticed that my buddy was all broken up on the other end of the line. I could tell that he was weeping. This fellow was one of the toughest athletes around as we were growing up. I had never seen him shed a tear. But he was now. 

When he finally composed himself, he said, “Joel, my wife just recently left me. And I’ve been so depressed and discouraged.” 

He said, “I’m not a religious person, but I prayed, ‘God, if You’re still out there, if You really love me, if You’re connected at all, just give me some kind of sign.’ And then the phone rang and it was you.”

God knows what He’s doing. He knows who’s hurting. He knows who’s at the end of their rope. If you will follow the flow of love and compassion wherever it leads, you may be the answer to a desperate, lonely person’s prayer. You may not fully realize the impact one brief phone call can have. 

You may not realize the significance of what it means to a hurting, lonely person to hear the words “I’ve been thinking about you. I’ve been concerned about you. I love you. I believe in you. I want to be praying for you. I’m going to stand with you.” You may have forgotten how powerful and life-changing those simple words of hope can be. Let love lead you through life. Don’t ever ignore that feeling of compassion inside you. Learn to follow the flow of God’s divine love. He will direct your paths and show where and how to express it.