Survive and Thrive Now: Sometimes it’s a choice between THEM or YOU!

I was so moved this morning when I was watching the Today’s show coverage of Autumn Veach of Bellingham, WA, the teenager that survived the plane crash (http://www.today.com/news/autumn-veatch-teen-plane-crash-survivor-shares-harrowing-48-hour-t32836). As she told her story, there were so many lessons that stood out for us today.

1.       Life and death is in the power of the tongue. In the beginning, when the plane hit some turbulence, Veatch sent a joking text to her boyfriend: Veatch sent a text to her boyfriend, joking that, “If I die, remember I love you.” Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying her words caused the accident but I am saying that so often in life we speak things in existence and do not recognize the power our words have. So if you say things like, I am going to always be broke/I’ll never get married/No one in my family was ever successful so I guess I won’t be either, then . . .  YOU’RE RIGHT! Whatever you say and continuously speak and feed your spirit is exactly what comes to past. For many of us, if we examine our words, thoughts and life up to this point, we will see a pattern. Be alarmed but PRAY: For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding(Proverbs 2:6, KJV).

2.       Sometimes it’s a choice between your life or theirs. “I couldn’t get to Grandma at all. Grandpa, he pulled himself halfway out. I was reaching, trying to pull him out,” she said. I realized there was nothing I could do and that they were gone,” she said. “My instinct was just to go straight downhill.”    As I teach in my book, Sometimes all you have is Happy, in your battle you have to make the choice to pursue what you want and eliminate those things that weigh you down and hinder you from achieving what you desire. Nothing proves this more than this teen’s dilemma at that moment in time.

She attempted to save her grandparents; most of us intuitively would have made the same choice. Yet she used wisdom: first she recognized her grandmother was already gone and there was nothing that she could do. Second her grandfather pulled himself halfway out and she attempted to reach him and help him survive. Ooohhhh, I got chills when I heard her speak on that and I offer you what I gleamed from that part of her story: let the dead bury the dead and, if you’re going to attempt to help someone, help those that have proven they are trying to help themselves! Bottom line (and I have learned this over the years in trying to help others): you cannot help anyone that refuses to help themselves REGARDLESS of how much they SAY they want to change or need help. (Don’t you start me preaching on this one but you know I will!)

So today, especially for my helpers out there, save yourself first so you can truly be a help to those around you. There are numerous ministers, for example, that will tell you all the great work they did for their church members at their family’s expense resulting in the loss of their marriage, family and home. Be wise and proceed by the leading of the Holy Spirit!

 I encourage you to take the time and read the above link for yourself and see what the spirit has to say in your life regarding its application and lessons taught. Truly it is a powerful story and one that proves how much we have to learn especially those of us who are older (and suppose to be wiser). Do not sleep on this young generation; too many of them are getting the revelation that we were suppose to teach them and God had to teach them because we were sleeping on our job! 

I’ll close with this: Autumn said that after three days in the unforgiving cliffs, waterfalls and extreme cold she resolved to just give up and die. Many times in our lives we have the same thing. However, she started thinking about the things she would miss or “never have the chance to do” if she died. She couldn’t live with the idea of never “hugging someone again”; that motivated her to keep going and not give up!

What in your life today have you always dreamed of doing and have yet done? Instead of looking at your current situation, how far you are from achieving that thing, all your past failures/missed opportunities/could’ve-should’ve and would’ve, take another look! Look at that dream/goal or vision with the new lens of what if I did? What if I stepped out and was successful? What would happen if I believed and just did it? Yeah, that is how like Autumn Veatch, you get your second wind; now GO GET IT!