Resources
In geography books there are always these little sections that are bullet-pointed or subtitled. They deal specifically with the "RESOURCES" of the highlighted location. For instance, if you look up Argentina you're going to see "beef, leather, and shoes" as primary resources. (So if you're particularly fond of steak and cute leather pumps, you know where you should move.)
What would someone find if they looked up you? What are listed under your "resources"? Hilarious, healthy, exciting, crazy, thoughtful, caring, vivacious, may be a few of the listed assets.I'm not talking about things that you will EVENTUALLY have- resources that you will EVENTUALLY be in possession of. The section on Argentina doesn't list "maybe pineapple- someday down the road." No, the books list exactly what's there- right now.
I guess my reason for writing is seemingly trite, but allow me to expound on an old proverb- you don't know about tomorrow. You have no clue about your future. Sure, we all have spectacular plans, but in a blink of the eye, those plans may evaporate. All you have is your here and now. Are you using your here and now to the greatest potential? Are you maxing your life to its fullest in your pursuit of God's glory? No, I'm not talking about AFTER you have your degree, or have money, or have found the perfect spouse, or have lost that weight, cleared up that acne, and dealt with every possible sinful habit that you possess or may ever possess. I'm talking about the here. The now. What are you doing with it?
Let me explain why I've chosen this seemingly nebulous topic to write on...
I was diagnosed about a year ago with an autoimmune disease known as "ulcerative colitis." There is no indication how I got it, or why. It's often genetic, but no one in my family has it. It's often caught after a virus, but I was never sick. I've spent the past year waiting for my "resources" to list "healthy body." I've put my life on hold. And I've spent the past year sick or on the verge of sickness. Imagine having the stomach flu every day for a year. Yes, I know. A lot of fun.
Five days ago I was hospitalized because of severely low hemoglobin. My blood level was about half the level it should have been. I spent four days in the hospital running a battery of tests and having blood pumped into me. Apparently I was on the verge of passing out or slipping into a coma due to a lack of blood. After a series of tests and procedures, it was determined that I not only had ulcerative colitis, but I had a progressive form of the disease that could only be treated with extreme medication and steroids. A last ditch attempt is radical surgery.
I'm twenty-one years old. I'm not writing this because I want you to feel sorry for me. Please don't! There are many people out there who are suffering from worse conditions and can't even get adequate medical care. But I am writing this because I want you to avoid the mistake that I have been making for years- don't wait for tomorrow! Don't discount your present resources. I am going to spend the rest of my life taking medication, running tests, and trying to keep my blood level in the normal range. Daily college activities like exercise, walking to class, and eating out with friends are going to be constant challenges. Life is going to be lived with a condition that no doctor really knows that much about, and no doctor can cure. I didn't think that this was going to happen until I was 60, or 80. Old people are supposed to have failing bodies. Not college juniors. But it happened to me now. It's not a sob story. :) But it is a lesson that I've learned a little later than I wish I had.
Don't wait for tomorrow to give you what you need to be a blessing, a success, or a triumph. You have all you need right here, right now. Look at your resources. Add them up. Youth, vitality, health, creativity, determination, ability to change, compassion, service, empathy. List them.
Then use them.
You don't know about tomorrow.
You don't know what resources you may soon be without.
Or those which may soon be added!
You have no clue about what will happen.
But you have a fabulous today. I know you do.
I do!
What would someone find if they looked up you? What are listed under your "resources"? Hilarious, healthy, exciting, crazy, thoughtful, caring, vivacious, may be a few of the listed assets.I'm not talking about things that you will EVENTUALLY have- resources that you will EVENTUALLY be in possession of. The section on Argentina doesn't list "maybe pineapple- someday down the road." No, the books list exactly what's there- right now.
I guess my reason for writing is seemingly trite, but allow me to expound on an old proverb- you don't know about tomorrow. You have no clue about your future. Sure, we all have spectacular plans, but in a blink of the eye, those plans may evaporate. All you have is your here and now. Are you using your here and now to the greatest potential? Are you maxing your life to its fullest in your pursuit of God's glory? No, I'm not talking about AFTER you have your degree, or have money, or have found the perfect spouse, or have lost that weight, cleared up that acne, and dealt with every possible sinful habit that you possess or may ever possess. I'm talking about the here. The now. What are you doing with it?
Let me explain why I've chosen this seemingly nebulous topic to write on...
I was diagnosed about a year ago with an autoimmune disease known as "ulcerative colitis." There is no indication how I got it, or why. It's often genetic, but no one in my family has it. It's often caught after a virus, but I was never sick. I've spent the past year waiting for my "resources" to list "healthy body." I've put my life on hold. And I've spent the past year sick or on the verge of sickness. Imagine having the stomach flu every day for a year. Yes, I know. A lot of fun.
Five days ago I was hospitalized because of severely low hemoglobin. My blood level was about half the level it should have been. I spent four days in the hospital running a battery of tests and having blood pumped into me. Apparently I was on the verge of passing out or slipping into a coma due to a lack of blood. After a series of tests and procedures, it was determined that I not only had ulcerative colitis, but I had a progressive form of the disease that could only be treated with extreme medication and steroids. A last ditch attempt is radical surgery.
I'm twenty-one years old. I'm not writing this because I want you to feel sorry for me. Please don't! There are many people out there who are suffering from worse conditions and can't even get adequate medical care. But I am writing this because I want you to avoid the mistake that I have been making for years- don't wait for tomorrow! Don't discount your present resources. I am going to spend the rest of my life taking medication, running tests, and trying to keep my blood level in the normal range. Daily college activities like exercise, walking to class, and eating out with friends are going to be constant challenges. Life is going to be lived with a condition that no doctor really knows that much about, and no doctor can cure. I didn't think that this was going to happen until I was 60, or 80. Old people are supposed to have failing bodies. Not college juniors. But it happened to me now. It's not a sob story. :) But it is a lesson that I've learned a little later than I wish I had.
Don't wait for tomorrow to give you what you need to be a blessing, a success, or a triumph. You have all you need right here, right now. Look at your resources. Add them up. Youth, vitality, health, creativity, determination, ability to change, compassion, service, empathy. List them.
Then use them.
You don't know about tomorrow.
You don't know what resources you may soon be without.
Or those which may soon be added!
You have no clue about what will happen.
But you have a fabulous today. I know you do.
I do!
posted by COURTNEY at 11:23 AM
1 comments
