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From the Desk of…
By Ron Strickland, Lt. Colonel—
I have had cause to reflect on this question for a number of weeks. You see, I received an e-mail titled “Not Everyone Can Sit in Your Front Row.” To say this remark intrigued me would be an understatement. It really caught my attention and gave me pause to stop and consider—“Who I allow to sit in the Front Row Seat of my Life?” It is a very thought provoking question to consider. But, lest I digress, allow me to share what the anonymous author said about this matter:
Life is a theater—invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is spiritual enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in your life that are best loved from a distance. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, pointless relationships, friendships, and fellowships!
Consider your current relationships.
Pay attention to who lifts and who leans? Who encourages and who discourages? Who is on a path of growth and who is going down fast?
When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse? Who always has drama?
The more you seek God and godly things, the more you seek quality; the more you seek not just the hand of God, but the face of God, the more you seek things honorable; the more you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.
You cannot change the people around you, but you can change the people you are around! Ask God for wisdom and discernment and use these gifts to choose the people who sit in the front row of your life.
I have some wonderful people who sit in the front sit of my life. They are individuals that I would want in my “foxhole” during the battles of life. You know—the “foxhole” that a soldier digs during a fierce battle. It becomes a place of shelter and protection. And the individuals in my “foxhole” watch my back. They are the ones who come along side me and whisper words of encouragement in times of crises and chaos. They are individuals that I can count on no matter what is happening in my daily life. They become anchors that hold in the storms of life.
Who are the people who sit in the front row seat of your life? Are they individuals who value, appreciate and love you? Do they challenge and encourage you to become all that God wants you to become in life? If not, maybe it is time to change the front row people in your life? Of course, God MUST have the first chair in the front row seat of our lives. And when he does, he will insure that the other seats in the front row of our lives are filled with the best of the best!
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