In my early thirties, I found myself with three boys under the age of two, suffocating under the pressures of life. I was trying to be a good Christian, run a successful business, be a good father and husband, and stay in shape.
I was surviving, but I was exhausted.
Like a boxer, refusing to do down, I would get back in the ring and keep going. It seemed as if I lived defensively, trying to protect myself from the punches that life threw at me.
Then, as we all know, life has a way of delivering a knockout blow.
For some it’s marital problems, for others, it’s financial hardship. Still for some, it’s a diagnosis or the loss of a loved one. For me, it was all of the above.
A Moment of Clarity
As I stood there, looking at the fragments of my life, I had a moment of clarity. I had somehow managed to weather these blows. I was knocked down, but I wasn’t knocked out. I was still breathing, I was still here.
My journal
I grabbed a pen and wrote down these words in my journal: I am here.
Those were some of the most painful, and at the same time, refreshing words I had ever read. Here I was, in the midst of all of my struggles. But I was still here. I was still breathing, still living.
Then, in the back corner of my mind, a place I hadn’t visited that often, I felt like I heard this question:
What if everything in my life has happened for a reason?
I grabbed a pen and begin writing down what my life’s moments had taught me. I’ve never shown anyone this, but here is my journal entry from that day.
The words were scribbled because I was writing so fast and I was halfway hysterical while I was writing them.
But the culmination, the final moment when God got my attention, was when I went to church that Sunday.
Do you know what the sermon series was?
“You Matter”
Your Whole Life Matters
Since that day, in August of 2013, I have gone on to publish my first book and I have begun to tell audiences my story of uncovering the truth that my whole life mattered.
I still run my business. And, I am still a father. And, I am still concerned about my health. And now, I’m an author and speaker as well.
I’m learning that those ‘ands’ are very important. My whole life still matters.
Am I busy? Absolutely. Do I still struggle? Daily.
But the reality is that I have gained perspective and it is that perspective that I want to share with you.
Because your whole life matters as well.
But what does that mean?
whole:
|hõl|
adjective
1. all of; entire
2. in an unbroken or undamaged state; complete
noun
1. a thing that is complete in itslef
2. all of something
It’s curious to me that when you perform a Google Book search for the word ‘whole’, its use in the English vernacular has rapidly declined in recent years.
Maybe it’s because we believe, as a culture, that nothing is whole. Maybe it’s because we see so much brokenness and adversity that we’ve begun to believe that wholeness is impossible.
From our leadership, to our economy, down to our very lives, it feels like there is an impending threat of collapse. The media pelts us with accusations of another religious or political leader caught in some type of scandal, another tragedy strikes, and we’re left feeling hopeless.
We don’t feel whole, we feel fragmented.
While that is true, I don’t believe that we’re supposed to stay there.
And although wholeness is difficult, it’s not impossible.
Check out this short video below, and if you haven’t already, consider joining this newsletter for a bi-monthly dose of perspective that will help you discover the joy of an enriched life.
And, when you join, you’ll receive the first chapter of my book, Redefine Rich, in PDF and audio for free.
I look forward to walking with you.
MH
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