Tag: #keepgrowing

Elijah and the Ravens

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Hello my friends!

It’s been a long time— and I hate that. But “life” really got in the way of my personal goals this year.  That seems to happen to me a lot— but this time, I found myself neck-deep in a commitment that literally sucked the life from me and there was simply nothing left to offer anyone or anything else. The BuiltToBeAButterfly site was one of MANY casualties. In fact, I came very close to not renewing the website last December. If it had not been for the selfless contribution of a dear friend, the BuiltToBeAButterfly site would have died. (Thank you, Gloria, for being faithful to what our Creator placed on your heart!)

Part of me feels this excruciatingly painful “need” to apologize to you guys for my “failure to produce”.  But— the part of me that has been wrung through the wringer this year has finally had enough of my self-condemnation! THAT part of me has stood up, stomped her feet and declared, “It’s a FREE website! There’s no access fee. You offer what you can, free of charge, as you are able! People can’t get angry that you’re not dishing out enough free content!” (Oh, but they CAN— as some of the emails I’ve received prove. But that’s another story! haha!)

Let me just stop here and say— It’s been a tough year. Thank you for giving me Grace and sticking around. Now without further rambling, let me get on with today’s feature! It’s a radically different spin on an age-old bible story. Perhaps it will make ya’ think a bit. It certainly did me!

I’m going to title this one: Elijah and the Ravens

As some of you know, I spent a lot of time working in Wyoming this past year. The week before I headed back home, I finally got to visit Yellowstone National Park. It was only a quick day trip and with so much awe inspiring beauty hitting me at once, there’s probably a lot that I missed. But what I didn’t miss were the RAVENS.

As we drove through the park on the way to Old Faithful Inn, we were caught in construction traffic. Normally, that kind of thing just drives me batty! But this time, something unusual caught my eye. This enormous, shiny, blue-black bird, with an impressive black beak and piercing eyes landed on the road just feet from our car! Now I’ve seen blackbirds, and I’ve seen some pretty big crows in my day… but I had never seen any thing quite like this! This fella stood every bit of two feet tall and made it a point to strut back and forth next to the car, tilting his head and looking at me the whole time. I was mesmerized. So this was the bird who talked  in Edger Allen Poe’s famous poem, huh? Hmmm….. This guy looked like he might have had a lot to say!

By the time we got to the Inn, I had forgotten about the bird. We hustled to see Old Faithful, which was expected to blow soon. Rushing down the path, I heard a strange noise. I looked up and there— high above me on the branch of a large fir tree— was… yes… another gigantic raven, peering down at me. I stopped in my tracks and made eye contact with him. He was a commanding sort of presence; hard to ignore— even when rushing to watch Old Faithful.

At the lodge, there was another, and as we made our way back to the car, there was a fourth! All were impressive; HUGE, shimmering, magnificent creatures, unlike anything I had seen before.  We saw lots of beautiful sights that day, but nothing impressed me quite like those Ravens.

Fast forward another week. We are making the (very long) drive back home and those ravens kept coming to my mind. You guys aren’t going to believe what happened next. I mean—seriously— I barely do! I am literally in a daze, thinking back on the impressive stature of those birds when… I look up and see we are driving right past this giant statue of a bird. And not just any old bird—- a RAVEN!

I insisted my husband turn around. I had to get a better look! You can tell how tall it is by the flag pole behind it. I was absolutely fascinated. What kind of town erects a statue of a giant raven? The town of Ravenden, Arkansas, of course! It’s a tiny spot on the map with probably not more than 500 people.

Now, in modern days, Ravens have gotten a pretty bad rap. They are presented as dark, foreboding creatures, some times associated with witches and evil. But that wasn’t always the case— and the founding fathers of the town of Ravenden obviously understood that! They knew that ravens were intelligent creatures which were used to do a good deed in Scripture!

They didn’t just erect a huge statue of a raven, either. They added a large marble inscription at its base which quotes 1 Kings 17. That is the amazing story of where God used ravens to feed the prophet Elijah during a time in his life when he was exhausted and greatly discouraged.

Now friends, that really got me thinking! Yes, it’s fascinating to think that Yahweh Almighty used birds to feed someone during their time of need. But… Where did the meat and the bread come from? Think about that for a minute.

I love making homemade bread! But it’s work! Even now, when I can run to the corner grocery store and buy flour and yeast,  it’s a day-long process! Think about how much more cumbersome it was to make bread some four thousand years ago! This is important— please hear me out. I want you to walk through this process with me! First, they had to clear the field, to plant the wheat. Imagine— you’re out in the baking hot sun, tilling the hard, rocky ground with the help of your old mule. Then, after months of waiting, you would have to cut the wheat by hand with one of those ancient scythes; and bundle it. Imagine what THAT would do to your manicure!  You would have to thrash the stalks to separate the wheat from the shaft. All this, and you still don’t have flour yet! You must find a large, smooth river rock to pound the wheat berries into powder. Oh yes— let’s not forget that while your bread is rising, you have to go cut your own kenneling for the fire!

Are you starting to get the picture yet? Making bread during the time of Elijah was no simple task!! Can you imagine the pride a housewife of that era would feel when she finally pulled a loaf of golden brown bread from her clay oven? She would have to feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment!

So— how do you think she would feel to look up at the window sill and see some giant raven make off with her loaf of bread? Ponder that!

Now here’s something else to add to the scenario— it wasn’t just ONE bird—it was ravens—PLURAL. And they didn’t just bring Elijah bread once!! 1 Kings 17:6 states that these birds brought bread and meat— twice a day! Yep!!  The birds are out “collecting” goodies to sustain God’s prophet. And they did it morning and evening for what appears to be an extended period of time.

If you grew up attending a Christian church, you’ve probably heard this story many times. But I’ve never once heard a pastor ponder where those ravens got the bread. What did the poor, hard working mother feel like when she toiled so long and hard to provide for her family, only to have some bird make off with the fruits of her labor? I can’t help but feel sorry for this person. She would have had no way of knowing that these birds were using her efforts to feed a prophet of the Most High! All she knows is that her bread is gone and all of her hard work was for naught! She had to be soooo frustrated! Angry— maybe even at God! After all, why would He allow such a thing, knowing how hard she has worked?

So, what’s my point? Here’s where I’m going with all this: Some times God uses us— our money, our resources, our talents, our strengths, our hard work—-in ways that He doesn’t always make crystal clear. We may feel used up, taken advantage of, cast aside, or spent. We may spend a lot of energy whining and complaining about how a situation was unfair or pointless. But my friends— God NEVER allows a “pointless” situation to cross a believer’s path!

He doesn’t always give us the details of what He’s doing. He doesn’t always sit down and explain or ask our permission. But He truly does make all things work together in a way that brings blessing and benefit to His people.; even when we don’t fully understand His methods. You just never know. Maybe—like the bread bakers in Elijah’s day— He’s using you in a way that will alter eternity for someone and He just hasn’t revealed all the details to you yet! The thought has been helpful to me as I’ve walked through a challenging season and I pray that it encourages you as well.

 

Until Next Time,

Year End Update

Posted on by mrsmonarch

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, today marks the first day of the sun’s return to us! Starting today, each day will become a little bit lighter… and stay brighter just a little longer! With each lengthening day, the hope of spring—- and the renewal it brings— draws closer. I’ve got to admit— that’s music to my ears!!! 

I have chosen today to send my last communication of the year. Before I take a much needed little winter break, I wanted to reach out to you and let you know how deeply grateful I am for YOU.

I am grateful that you have opened your hearts up to me and allowed me to share snippets of my life with you over these last five years. I hope you have been blessed by the BuiltToBeAButterfly website and I pray you have found the words I’ve shared here to be honest, inspiring and thought provoking.

The creation of a website and the maintaining of a blog were certainly way outside of my skill set and comfort zone! But I believed the world NEEDED encouragement, so I “put my big girl panties on” and muddled through it. It took a while to work out the technical kinks but eventually, www.BuiltToBeButterfly.com was born.

(Okay… Okay. So the kinks never really have gotten COMPLETELY worked out…. LOL…. But you always knew you could come here to the website and scroll through the posts, even when the email program out witted me) 😉

It’s certainly been a roller coaster ride of successes and failures. In some ways, it’s become way more successful than I ever dreamed. In other ways, it’s left me confused and a little disappointed. But God has blessed me through it all and has allowed me to see that I’ve blessed others as well. That is a reward I can’t put a price tag on.

That said, for the last several months, I have been praying for direction on where to take this ministry. The world we live in has definitely changed in the last couple of years. It seems most people are too busy, too overwhelmed or just too dang tired at the end of their day to sit and read. So, I’m looking at moving away from blogging.

I’m not sure what that will mean for the future of the BuiltToBeAButterfly website…

I have committed to renewing the domain for the 2022 calendar year and will continue to pay for web hosting through 2022. I will still publish posts here occasionally, but will be investing most of my time and energy into completing other writing projects that I have been working on.

In due season, you may hear more about those. 😉

While you’re waiting—– I hope you stay BRAVE!! That you promise to keep GROWING. That you give yourself the freedom to leave your cocoon and CHANGE what needs to be changed—-and that you NEVER– EVER– STOP striving to become a stronger, more beautiful version of yourself!

 

Here’s to all you beautiful butterflies in the making!! 

 

 

 

Unplugged: The End of a Social Media Addiction

Posted on by mrsmonarch

It was the week before the election. I climbed out of bed, grabbed my phone from its charging station and stumbled towards the coffee pot. As the familiar gurgling sounds of brewing coffee filled the air, I nestled into my seat at the kitchen table and did what I did every morning. I went straight to Facebook.

I can’t really say with absolute clarity WHEN I became a social media addict. But… some where along the way, my addiction had become glaring clear— at least to everyone but me.

I wasn’t always like this. As I think back on my days as a young mom, I remember barely having the time to go to the bathroom! I certainly didn’t have had time to scroll through my phone all day, looking at posts from people in cyber space that I had never even met in person! In fact, the idea would have been laughable had you asked me about it all those years ago. But fast forward two decades, and here we are.

The thing is? I’m not alone in my addiction. Millions of others are right there with me, surfing through pictures of other people’s lives, and tallying up “likes” and “shares” like the greedy banker, Mr. McScrooge.

We sit our phones down for a moment or two… only to find it mysteriously back in our hand again a short time later. It “pings” and “dings” and lights up. It calls for us. Or… perhaps more accurately, it SUMMONS us??! Yes indeed. How many of us can leave it sitting on the table after seeing it light up? Do you feel the pull?? The distraction? The invisible yet very real tugging that almost demands you stop what you are doing and answer?!

Maybe it’s just me? Maybe I am completely out of touch—- grasping at straws? Maybe I’m Hoping that it’s not JUST me. But as I look around, I realize that to some degree, this addiction has infested most of us!

My coffee was ready. I poured myself a cup and I went back to scrolling through Facebook. The posts were dark and unsettling. There was information… and misinformation… and the thing is?? They all looked the same. Though I did try, it was hard to discern fact from fallacy. Frankly, I’m not sure I ever uncovered absolute truth!
The only thing I knew for sure was that my PEACE was gone.

And that is when it hit me. I mean, I knew before. But THAT was the morning that I knew– beyond any shadow of a doubt– that I could no longer allow my peace to be tied to the insanity of a cyber world called “social media”. It was convenient timing, because that is when rumors started circulating about spyware and tracing technology. All of it together, became the incentive for me to do what I knew I HAD to do.

U-N-P-L-U-G.

It’s a fearful thing to think that one’s entire social presence can disappear at the click of a button! Well, “fearful” might be an over statement… (or not! HA!) But that’s a pretty accurate description of how I felt about it.

On more than one occasion, I searched out “How do I delete my social media accounts?” I even posted about it a couple of times. (Though looking back, I have to wonder why. It almost makes me laugh.) I’m not really sure if I was expecting someone to talk me out of leaving?? Perhaps I secretly longed to be “needed”? Or maybe I just wanted to believe my presence would be missed?? That all those “friends” and “followers” I had would rally together and persuade me to stick around because I added so much “value” to their lives???! HA!

It’s almost laughable. Or it would be… if it weren’t so dang sad!

But in truth? The battle in my head and heart really did look at lot like that! Somewhere along the way, I had allowed social media to not only become my ADDICTION– it also had become my judge. Seriously. Just hear me out.
I had allowed social media to “judge” my thoughts, my experiences, my words, my opinions, my goals. Even the pictures I shared were judged—- “rated”—- given the approval of my “friends” or…. sometimes, they were DENIED approval. In one click of a button, people from anywhere in the world could choose to “accept” me… or “reject” me… and they didn’t even have to look at me to do it. And crazier still?? I was holed up in my house, grasping my phone, waiting for the notifications that would confirm… or deny… my value!

Whew! I will spare you all the gruesome, emotional details and jump to the exciting part! Are you ready??

I HIT DELETE!!!

That’s right! I waffled back and forth a lot longer than I should have. I agonized about deleting pictures. I agonized about “loosing friends”. In all honesty?? I wasn’t at all sure of what my day would look like if it wasn’t constantly bombarded with the rush of dopamine I had grown so accustomed to! But I hit delete ANYWAY. And here I am!

I feel like a recovering Addict!! “Hello! My name is Ledonna. And I’ve been off of Instagram a month now.” hahaha.

Facebook was the next to go. Then finally, I took the plunge and removed messenger last week. I have to say that it felt SO good, that I decided to go through my email account and delete an INSANE number of old messages hanging around in there. THAT was a chore! (If this is something you have been putting off, I suggest you google how to do it quickly! There’s a trick to deleting massive amounts at once! It was SO worth it! I had NO idea that this stuff had been weighing me down like it was! IT FELT AMAZING to let all of that crud go!!!)

I was so motivated by the lack of baggage, that I’ve started de-cluttering my phone! I’ve been wondering why it was so sluggish! Now that it’s 2000 texts and 60+ contacts lighter, it seems to be much more efficient!

Now, I didn’t get rid of EVERY body. But I did do some serious pruning. I had to realize that every person I was “holding space for” was taking up room in my head and heart. Let’s be real. Each of us only has so much space!!! Our head and hearts are VALUABLE REAL ESTATE! We need to be purposeful about who we allow to occupy that limited space!

So, I went through each contact, one by one. I was able to see the last we had talked on the phone. I was able to read the last few texts we had shared. I was also able to see the times that I had reached out to someone and heard nothing at all, many times over.

Once I was no longer distracted by the tentacles of social media, I was clearly able to see who was truly interested in maintaining a relationship with me … and who was just … taking up space. And though that wasn’t a painless reality, I am able to see that letting go of those people means I have OPENINGS now for Fresh and meaningful interactions again!

My mind is less cluttered now. The clutter has been replaced by an odd, and somewhat uncomfortable, quiet. Behavioral scientists claim that dopamine addiction is a very real thing, so I imagine it will take a while for my brain to stop craving the interaction. But I’m sure I’ll get there!

Occasionally, I have found myself wondering if I’m “missing” something. But before I get too carried away with that concern, something outside the kitchen window catches my eye and I notice that my little sparrow is back. She’s already making provisions for her next brood.

Seeing her diligently work to build her nest makes my insides smile. And all the sudden, social media—and all the chaos it brings— is the furthest thing from my mind. There’s a great big, beautiful LIFE out here, my friends. And I need to get back to it instead of considering it a spectator sport!

I’ll still be posting things here, as time allows, and you can still reach me via the Built.To.Be.A.Butterfly@gmail.com email address. But I’ll be off the social media radar for a while, and have the faith that those who need what BuiltToBeAButterfly offers will find us in spite of that.

Until Next Time,

When Yesterday’s Pain Knocks on Today’s Door

Posted on by mrsmonarch

A few weeks ago, an acquaintance reached out to me. She is a physically beautiful woman with kind eyes, a radiant smile and a countenance that lights up a room. In her note, she was quite complimentary of my work and repeatedly mentioned that she had always felt a connection with me—feeling that we have likely walked some of the same places and overcome similar challenges.

As I read her words, my insides began to feel warm and fuzzy. She’s an accomplished author and public speaker, so her words of validation held a great deal of weight and my thirsty soul soaked them up as gratefully as a traveler through a dusty desert would appreciate a cold glass of water.  I felt acknowledged.  Appreciated. Included. Validated. A smile crossed my face.

Then…. It happened. I got to the last two paragraphs of her letter. That’s when my countenance fell. There was an “invitation” to join an organization of people just like “us”, who would provide a network of like-minded folks for us to work alongside and glean from. This “golden, ground floor opportunity” was only being offered to a “very select few” of her friends—a handful of talented, sensitive people like ME—whom she is eager to get to know better and work with. And the BEST part? I can choose to be a part of all this camaraderie for the bargain basement price of only… $50 a month.

I went from 60 to zero in 3.7 seconds. My insides ached. I felt deceived. Tricked. And terribly, terribly foolish. That little voice in my head taunted me. “She wanted something from you! Of course she did! People ALWAYS want something from you!” I literally sat there, reading and re-reading her words, and felt like I was drowning in a flash flood of emotion that came out of NO where and was about to sweep me away! I was startled by the intensity of the sting I felt! It truly hurt all the way to my core!

Now, I want to take a step back and clarify. She seems to be a fantastic lady, and her motives may have been completely pure! Truthfully, I have no reason to think otherwise. She may have actually been familiar with my work. She may have heard me speak somewhere.  Her invitation may have been completely legitimate and her interest sincere. In fact, I may have just turned down an opportunity to work with someone who has credible inside knowledge of a difficult-to-crack industry and real connections!

(*Cue that hateful little voice in my head. It is laughing hysterically as I write this. It keeps saying things like, “Yep! That’d be YOUR luck! Haha! Maybe you should have told her you’d do it. It’s like agreeing to be a part of a “rent a friend” club! And you KNOW you could use some new friends!”)

But I silence the voice and keep typing. I made the right call, and I know it. Here’s why…

I’m finally old enough and wise enough to realize that when something sparks that much raw emotion in us, it’s an indication of a nasty wound that is hiding somewhere in the depths of our weary souls. From my reaction, this wound was old… and deep. And filled with years of dirt, debris and scar tissue. 

My first reaction, of course, was to ratchet all that unpleasantness down and sweep it under the proverbial rug. (Avoidance is ALWAYS my “go to” reaction! LOL) But my “rug” has grown lumpy from doing that over the years, so I decided to be brave and investigate it further. I wanted to finally be free of whatever this was—- even if that meant I had to dig deep and endure an alcohol and iodine bath.

(Did that phrase just betray my Southern heritage??! Probably so. But I digress.) To translate, that means I finally decided that I needed to figure out where all of this pain and insecurity were coming from. I needed to face it and clean it up —even if it was a painful process. Then— and only then— could I expect to finally heal from it and move on.  I prayed earnestly for insight.

It came as a nagging question. “Child, when was the very first time you were left out? Excluded? Made to feel like an outcast—-unwanted and tossed aside?”

I sighed. I recognized that “voice”. It’s how the Father speaks to me. His voice is quiet but firm. Full of gentle strength and tenderness. It is never taunting like my alter ego. It continued…

“I want you to go back there for a brief moment, only THIS time, I want you to be mindful that I am here, holding your hand. I want you to let yourself feel those feelings. I want you to remember those tears. Yes, it’s going to hurt a bit, but I want you to remember that I love you and I will never let you go. I want to show you that there was purpose in your pain.”

I sighed again. My mind began to wander back over the years, speeding past an assortment of life events, big and small, the way an old VCR tape would do.  

When my thoughts stopped spinning, I found myself in 3rd grade. That was when I learned how important it was to get the approval of “Connie”, the most popular girl in class. It was Connie, the girl with chestnut brown, waist length hair, and all the pretty clothes who seemed to have the final say of whether or not you could play on the swings at the same time as the “in” crowd. It was Connie whose invitation to sit at her table during lunch could make… or break… your perceived value. It was Connie who decided when we would play four-square and when we would play kick ball. And it was Connie who always told us who would play on what team. Yes, It might have been the teacher who handed out the report cards, but trust me when I say that it was Connie who had already graded your worth!

I wasn’t smiling any more. Yesterday’s pain was knocking on today’s door.

I felt an odd mixture of loneliness and sadness. Frankly, it surprised me that all these years later, something as “simple” and petty as a childhood clique could actually be the root of so much hidden insecurity and heartache. And that’s when my adult brain made the connection. It wasn’t “just” 3rd grade Connie. There have been MANY Connies in my life over the years.

There was that group of “mean girls” in Junior High School. And that boy who broke my heart. There was that girl in high school who pretended she was dying to be my friend, when in fact, she knew I was like a kid sister to a boy she had a crush on and she used me to gain access to him. Yes, there have even been “Connies” in my adult life— those who only called when they wanted something. Those who were “friends” —all the way up to the point where I needed to lean on them for a change… 

You know the ones. We’ve all had them cross our paths every so often. It always hurts to realize that they were much more important to you than you were to them.

And, that was the last straw. Yesterday’s pain KICKED open the door. I felt 9 years old again. The dam broke and one experience after another flooded my recollection. There were “Connies” EVERY WHERE! By this time, big ugly, crocodile tears were streaming down my face.  I felt so cheap. Dirty. Manipulated. Used. STUPID. I was about to go full blown pity party!

But God…

That’s when He stopped me in my tracks. He squeezed my wounded soul and brought me back to 2019. I took a deep breath. I felt so …. Tired. Drained. Empty. Working through our issues does that, friends. But that’s when He made good on His promise and pulled back the veil of confusion so that I could gain understanding.

“Child”, He said, “Yesterday’s pain doesn’t have to linger on today’s doorstep! I know those things hurt. But I want to show you the bigger picture. Your feelings are intense. You love very deeply and… that does make you more vulnerable to heartache. You thought that because those things were hurtful, they were inherently “bad”. But the truth is, you were in training. You see, you learn best through experience. You always have. I needed you to understand— to truly understand— how deeply the pain of rejection can wound the human spirit. I needed you to know what being left out, cast aside, and over looked REALLY looked like. Only then could I grow the compassion and empathy in you that would eventually be so encouraging to others.”

And that was my jaw-dropping moment. Pain, yes. But pain with a purpose! God vows to use ALL THINGS for our good and His glory. And this was the opportunity He chose to reveal how He had made good on that promise in MY life. As I look back over my life and this ministry, I can see that it was the heartache that tenderized my spirit and grew compassion in me. It was the pain of rejection that grew into my fiercely protective loyalty and my dogged search for the overlooked, discarded, “under-dogs” of society!

I looked in the mirror. My mascara was smeared all down my tear stained face. I was tired, yet oddly at peace. I can bring up these memories now and see them in a different light. It’s all very “matter of fact” now. There is no puss-filled, toxic infection brewing. And, my spirit is lighter. It was SO worth the effort!

Now back to how the story started –that acquaintance with an agenda. Her offer probably is legit. And, it might be a wonderful opportunity. But not for THIS season in my life. And I finally gathered the courage to tell her that. If it’s truly the right move for me, my Heavenly Father will bring it back around once I’m better prepared for it. He’s proven that He’s faithful like that, over and over again.

So guess what? The very day I sat down to commit all of this paper, a very dear and trusted friend called me out of the blue. She wants us to work together to plan a ladies conference, where patterns of brokenness can be identified and healed! Hmmm! If I’d over ridden my emotion and swept it all under the rug—- had I rejected embracing the pain and jumped for the first glittery thing I was offered—I’d currently be too committed to embrace this task. And that’s when it hit me. All things truly DO work out for the best when we lay ourselves bare on God’s alter and allow Him to do His miraculous work in us!

Friends, some of the topics I cover are not easy to write about. But, I hope my transparency helps you find the courage to do your own housekeeping; to bring the skeletons out of the closet, to “bury the dead” and get on with the business of your BEAUTIFUL LIFE. It is absolutely worth the effort.

 

Until Next Time!

What I Learned at the Walk of Fame

Posted on by mrsmonarch

Those of you who follow us on Instagram know that we were in sunny southern California last week. My husband and I took our oldest daughter along with us. She has been struggling through a particularly grueling college semester, and we had hopes of giving her a bit of refreshment during spring break. 

While there, she wanted to see all the typical tourists spots in Los Angeles. So…. we carved out a day to explore Griffith Park—home of the infamous Hollywood sign, the observatory and some of the most fantastic views in all of LA. Then, we headed over to check out the Walk of Fame and Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.

It was a bright, sunny day. Hordes of tourists were wandering the “strip”. We arrived in front of the theatre to find that it, too, was full of people— all bumping into one another as they struggled to find impressions of the hands/feet and signatures of their favorite Hollywood stars in the concrete beneath their feet.

It was pretty obvious where the most famous blocks were. All you had to do was follow the crowds. Clumps of people, selfie sticks in hand, were gathered around the spots where Marilyn Monroe and Jimmy Stewart had made their marks.

I had been there before, so I wasn’t as interested in finding the prominent stars. I was able to leisurely wander the area at my own pace, and observe what wasn’t being observed. You see, every square foot of the vast entrance to the theatre has been filled with 3×3 foot blocks of concrete, all signed and “stamped” with the hand and foot prints of the rich and famous. Yet…. many of those immortalized there are now obscure; long forgotten by the masses.

And THAT is when it happened….

I had the sudden realization that everyone represented here was once very well known. Probably wealthy. Definitely in the public eye. An object of adoration…. yet now, decades later, a crowd of spectators walked over their block without even giving them a second look. Their space was simply a means to an end— the

path which had to be taken in order to get to some place we wanted to go.

Many of these American icons are dead and gone. Their images are recorded in the movies they left behind, but the greatest part of who they were has vanished like smoke on a windy day. Yes, their names are immortalized in concrete… but most of ours will be one day, too. (It’s called a tombstone, folks!) In the end, whether a name is written on the Hollywood walk of fame or on a slab of stone in a cemetery, it really won’t make a difference.

You see, no matter who we are, or how much we have, we all come to an end. We grow old; our life force drains; and our physical bodies return to the dust from which they were formed. All that remains of us here in this earthly realm is the legacy we have left behind.

What have we stood for? How have we spent our time? What is important to us? And most importantly, does how we spend our time reflect those things??

We each have 24 hours in our day—-That’s a whopping 8,760 hours each calendar year. Regardless of age, sex, race or financial status—we each get the same amount of hours in our year. And… we are each bound by the same restriction—- we can only use them ONCE, and then, they are gone forever. I guess it is fair to say—-Time is a great equalizer!

Friends, every day is a fresh start. A new beginning! An opportunity to renew our commitment to the things in our lives which are important to us. Every moment is valuable. One day, no matter who we are or what we have accumulated, our time will be up. Our names will be written in stone and our lives will be summarized by the dash between the dates of our birth and death. The years will pass, and eventually the time will come when no one even remembers who we were.

Don’t let that depress you! Let it MOTIVATE YOU!! Determine what really matters and focus on those few things. Be purposeful. Spend the moments wisely. Appreciate the “little things”, because real living only starts when we take the time to notice and appreciate what most people rush past and overlook!

Train yourself to be painfully aware that time is finite! Then, vow to live your life in such a way that when your time is spent, you can leave here knowing the world is a better place because you were in it! I am grateful that our brief time on the Walk of Fame reminded me of this! 

Until Next Time,