Take whatever you have, and give it away...

A buddy of mine tells the story of going fishing with his grandfather when he was young.  They all lived near Mobile Bay and fishing was almost a way of life.

This was my friend's first trip out into the ocean.  At their first stop,  they caught maybe a dozen fish, and then my friend watched in horror as his grandfather chopped up his prize catch into chum.

Grandad had something bigger in mind, bigger fish, that the chum would bring in.  But first, he had to give up something (the small fish), acting on faith that he would be able to catch bigger fish. 

Would it have been better to go on home with the small fish and maybe feed your family or try and catch the big fish and feed your neighbor's family too?

Life is a lot like that.

Do we settle for a decent job because it is a steady income and the benefits are decent or do we work to get the job that truly makes us happy?

Do we settle for a certain relationship because, well, it's the best thing that has come along yet and I'm not getting any younger, or do we wait for that perfect somebody? 

I remember counseling a young employee that was struggling with relationships.    To be honest about it, she had dated a string of what I will call "losers."   I asked her if she wanted to wait on "Mr. Right" or settle for "Mr. Almost-Good-Enough."   She waited and found her dream guy.

Do we settle for "good enough" or do we go for the best?  It's all a risk but if you think back on it, haven't a lot of the good things that have happened to you in your life involved some risk?

You risked asking that cute girl out on a date and now 38 years later, you're still married.   You weren't sure that you could make it through graduate school and you were quite sure you couldn't move half way across the country but you did and you could.

I'm a firm believer that we have to take some risks.

 I am just as firm a believer that you have to give in order to get.

 I didn't always think that way.   I can remember when I was little and it was Christmas and everybody said it was better to give than to receive and I just didn't understand that at all.

Giving of ourselves is the key to both our success and our happiness.   When you get to the point in a relationship when it seems better for you to do something for your significant other than it is for them to do something for you, it is magic. 

Try this:   Do something nice for somebody else in a way that they don't know who did it.  And then resist the urge to tell them.   Now think of it from their perspective:  Someone thought enough of me to do something nice but didn't want the credit.  How special is that?

There is a gospel song that I really like that includes the line "if you want more lovin' than your heart can hold, if you want to stand taller if the truth were told,  take whatever your have and give it away."

I like that.