"Look here, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.' How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? your life is like the morning fog - it's here a little while, then it's gone." - James 4:13-14 (NLT). 
If we have learned anything from the year 2020, it's just how precious life is and the importance of cherishing every breath we are blessed to take. In the midst of navigating through a global pandemic, racial unrest, economic twists and turns, and the loss of loved ones there is a silver lining dimly peering out beneath the raw emotion of this season - life is precious. It will do us no good to be swallowed up by the moment but rather the preciousness of life should be our motivator to fight for the gumption to dream, build, hope, tear down, speak life, re-imagine, innovate, intercede, walk by faith, reconstruct, dust off old ideas, forgive, move forward, say good bye to anxiety and depression, welcome change, embrace our loved ones, let go of grudges, etc. The list, a very wide ranging one, is worth the movement of life. Every breath we take is an opportunity to live the life we have always dreamed of. 

A few hours ago I learned of the passing of Chadwick Boseman, an amazing actor who lost his battle with cancer at the young age of 43. Though I did not know him personally, his story inspires me tremendously. He gave voice to so many important figures in American History and brought to life the marvel superhero Black Panther. My son has the action figure nestled in his bed with him as I type.  He did what he loved until he literally could not physically do it anymore. His legacy leaves such a hallmark upon the world that echos very poignantly, "What are you waiting for?" Our fears must take a back seat to the call that has been playing shadow to our innermost dreams. Each breath requests our purpose to be brought to the forefront. 

Still reeling from the shooting of Jacob Blake, I found myself welling up with tears as I continued to read of Mr. Boseman's passing. I thought of Kobe Bryant, his beautiful daughter Gianna and the other beautiful lives lost as a result of that tragic accident this past January. I thought about the countless lives lost to COVID-19, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many, many others who have died at the hands of police brutality and racism. The list goes on and on. Among the barrage of thoughts, I found myself internally asking God, "What can I do? What do you want me to do?" I felt the Holy Spirit answer me very gingerly, 

"Paint. Write." As clear as day, He directed me toward my purpose. Our answer to all the unrest, the hurt, the pain, the confusion, misunderstandings, and misfortunes is rooted in our God given purpose. What we do with the breath God has given us is poised to positively revolutionize the world around us for generations to come if we use our time investing and walking in what God called us to do individually and collectively.

While it's important to look for leadership to help to guide us through these uncertain times, the greatest thing we can do is look within ourselves. True leadership is birthed from internal conversations that motivate us to be the change and not just call for someone else to step up to the plate. Just what if we are the change we so desperately seek? There's always hope. As long as we have breath in our bodies, there is hope for us and our world. Through tears and frustration, let's use  pain as a motivator toward purpose. In the midst of triumph and disappointment, let's refuse to give up and let's fight do what we love most until our last breath. 

"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,  that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!" -Psalms 30:11-12
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The journey of life can take us to so many different places. Some of those places we choose and some we are given. I have had some of the most wonderful experiences and I have seen my dark days. One thing that has been consistent is God. He has been my light in the darkness and my reason for rejoicing. God was there in when I graduated from High School with honors and he wiped away my sorrow when my admissions to University of California, Santa Barbara was rescinded due to two bad grades I received my last semester of High School.  During this process He used my former high school counselor, who was a Loyola Marymount University alum and encouraged me to apply to that school. He rejoiced with me when I received my degree from college.

A few years later, He was also there when I got the call from my supervisor letting me know I was laid off from my very first job after college. Sometimes the most painful things in life can seem unending.  He picked me up again when He opened my eyes to a passion that led to 8 years with a great organization. He was there when my grandmother passed away over two years ago. A week before she passed, he provided a space for her to say her final goodbyes. It felt like I fell in this abyss and could not get out of it. Nothing would satisfy the pain I felt but the touch of God and the passage of time. The pain was made way easier because of the things she said in that moment that are now imprinted on my heart.

 I am sure you can recount back to some setbacks and disappointments in your life. In the moment if felt like the hurt would never end, but there was a day when you looked up and somehow/someway everything was okay. I call that someday the grace of God. I found that there is a time when I looked around and realized that I survived. Not only did God bring me through but each time there was a lesson of His love and provision that I took away from it. When I did not believe in myself God always did. His thoughts and plans for my life have never changed. What about you? 

​I encourage you today to hold on. You may feel alone in your sorrow or your grief but be steadfast in your faith. There will be a day where you look around and God has brought you through with flying colors. For each closed door, there is a blessing on the other side of it. My grandmother use to always tell me that there is a ram in the bush - in reference to God providing provision to Abraham as he faithfully walked up the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac. God has a ram for you too. He has plans to restore everything that you have lost and to comfort you in the midst of your strife. 

Whatever you are sitting with today, God can provide a sanctuary of love and peace for you. No pain is to great or problem to big. All it takes from you is having a little bit of faith. The Bible talks about faith as big as a mustard seed having the power to move mountains. All God needs is your belief in Him. If you dare to trust God, I guarantee that you will find peace. It may not be in your timing and how you want it to be done but it will be what you need. God has always taken situations in my life and made them one thousand times better than I could have done. With Him you got this. You will make it to the other side. 

May God bless you to Live for God, Live with Purpose, and Live your Life Out Loud.  
​- Christine Houston