Elevate in Spite of the Opposition

"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand." ~ Woodrow Wilson

No one was more impoverished in his mindset than former president Woodrow Wilson. When prejudice wraps itself around your thoughts and worldview like a python, it's difficult to break loose. He was the President of the United States, yet he supported the Jim Crow system of de facto (culture/attitude) and de jure (law/politics) racism that fanned the flame of one of the most dangerous eras for African-American's in history. His support of the Ku Klux Klan reaped a harvest of "strange fruit" that broke the hearts of black mothers and the back of America.

I wonder what he would say if he knew that a young African-American woman was using the words that came from his mouth to empower others in her journey towards building a legacy, not only for African-Americans, but for humanity? Would he tell me that what he said was for Whites only? Would he protest my blog and burn a cross in my backyard?

I don't know...the man is dead. But what I do know is everything God has given me the grace to battle for has come because of my decision to stand on His promise and therefore fight against every form of opposition, both from within and without.

Woodrow Wilson didn't know me; my great-grandparents were adolescents when he was in office! Yet somehow the opposition he presented to my progenitors injected a warrior ethos and solidarity within their DNA that now courses through my own veins. In that sense, the legacy they left me has given me the right to take that racist president's words and use them as stepping stones to elevate my thinking and strategic actions to leave a legacy for the descendants to come.

In what ways have you used the opposition that has come against you to elevate to another level in your own mind and actions?

Acorn to Oak Tree...I want to be a Legacy!

"I want to change the world for 300 years after I'm dead and gone." ~ Peter J. Daniels

This life I have been given has very little to do with me. It is a snapshot; a wrinkle in time of what is to come. Therefore, it stands to reason that if I live this life solely focused on what I can get and how I can benefit, then it will have been a waste. There is too much future within a human being to do such a thing!

I mentioned the power that lies within an acorn a few days ago; however, I would be remiss if I didn't discuss HOW the power in that acorn is activated. I found a few interesting facts about acorns on this website.

Only one in 10,000 acorns actually have a chance of becoming a tree.

Although in the forest, this is a daunting fact, in humanity, it's unacceptable! First and foremost, if you're alive, that means you're a survivor! You're the seed that made it through all the bacteria, past all the competition to get to the egg! Congratulations! You did it! That being the case, why in the world would we settle for being ordinary? We had the character to make it through the birth canal; the odds of that happening for many of us were one in 5 - 6 million!!!! We have the mind and capacity to become the trees and forests if we just tap into the correct source of motivation.

Sometimes little insects called weevils plant themselves within the shell of an acorn to prevent it from having the capacity to become a tree in the future, even if all the circumstances are right.

There are times when external circumstances try to eat the very life and destiny out of us, making us hollow and useless. Whether we endured an abusive relationship, or we're working ourselves to death at jobs that mean absolutely nothing to us, we cannot allow external weevils to burrow themselves into our psyches and spirits. The same is true internally. Sometimes we just lie to ourselves! We tell ourselves that we're not good enough; we don't have what it takes; we don't have enough money; someone else can do it better. If that were the case, then why in the world did God choose for US to make it to the egg and not one of the 5 - 6 million other sperm? Think about it! Don't allow weevils to snake their way into your space!

Sometimes the leaves from an oak tree will hide the beneficial qualities of an acorn, causing the acorn to rot and mold on what is supposed to be its life giving source.

Let's take a moment to discuss talent vs. character. Talent can be seen as the leaves, and character as the acorn. I never want my talent to take me where my character cannot keep me. Yes, I'm going to be wealthy, but not at the expense of my integrity. Yes, I'm going to be influential, but not at the sacrifice of what matters the most to me, whether it's my walk with Christ or my family.

Here's the bottom line, though. In order for the acorn to become a tree, it must be able to fall from the branches of one tree and DIE...die to impure motives, selfishness, false humility, discouragement, and whatever other poison that strips its potential to become like the very thing it drew its own life from.

That's why I choose to die daily. I choose to live this life like I'm raising my great-great-great-great grandchildren, even down to a thousand generations. Acorns are cute, but oak trees are their source. I want to develop seeds of love and righteousness that will perpetuate on this earth for years to come.