So I'm at work this morning and I got this sudden craving for a Panera Bacon, Egg and Cheese on Ciabatta. Man I could already taste it and as hard as I work, I decided hey I'm gonna treat myself. (I never eat breakfast, really tryna work on that.) I look at the time and its 10:20 so I'm thinking I can make it by the time they stop serving breakfast at either 10:30 or 11. But when I got there, at 10:33, lo and behold I was too late. I tried to look at the menu to find a lunch item that would suffice but I didn't. So I decided to just go to McDonald's and get a Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a Bagel. Hey it wouldn't satisfy the craving but I wouldn't be hungry anymore.
However, I just now happened to look up and realize that I ate half the sandwich, a third of the hashbrown and really not enjoying this lemonade lol. Then, without thinking, I just threw the sandwich away. And guess what...I'm still hungry! I just couldn't get into that McDonalds sandwich cause I still had the taste for that Ciabatta bread in my mouth.
Maaaan, my brain just started clicking and thinking about my life. How many times have I done the same thing on a much larger scale: SETTLED. I think we do it so much we don't even realize it sometimes. And it's funny because I think just like with my breakfast sandwich, the rationale is well hey it'll at least fill my need. BUT IT DOESN'T (hence me still being hungry lol.)
2010 was the year where it struck me like lighting; how much I had settled in various areas of my life. I know lots of selfish people who tend to always think of themselves. Then there's me, the true blue, self-sacrificing to a fault. Completely on the other end of the spectrum; always thinking of everyone else. Neither case is good, there's gotta be a balance. After fully realizing that last year I started trying and am continuing this year to put myself on the list of people whose needs I consider and weigh heavily. Man, it's a real adjustment! But it's a necessary one. I'm determined that this is my time! I'm pushing forward with all those dreams I've been waiting to get around to, settling for a second best life while I take care of everyone else. Never again will I settle for anything less than God's absolute best for me in career, relationships, finances, and every area of my life.
I challenge you to think of the areas where you may be settling for second best. Are you sitting in front of the sandwich in any areas of your life trying to figure out why you just can't eat it, especially since you're hungry? Could it be that it isn' t God's best for you and you know it. Especially in terms of career. This is where I find most people settle. They get the nice cushy job with benefits and are just too comfortable to take the leap to where they are really created to be. Fill the hunger for real, BE WHO YOU ARE CREATED TO BE! It is so liberating.
I really like this blog. I've definately had your sandwich experience. Settling now makes my stomach hurt and is so hard to ignore. I too had put others before myself but it was until my tea kettle was on the back burner squealing above the heat that I realized that there were many squeals throughout life that I ignored. I have been determined now to seek God and hear moren clearly to what is best in his eyes. So liberating indeed.
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