Shouldering the Weight

The most powerful point in the song “Closer to Love” by Mat Kearney is when these words are sung:

“Pull me out of the dark just to shoulder the weight. Cryin’ out now from so far away. You pull me closer to love.”

When I first heard the song, I appreciated its tune. Having now heard it several times, I appreciate it for the universally applicable message it brings. If you know someone that is ”in the dark”, whether that dark is debt, disease, depression… do your best to help pull them out of it, even if that means you must shoulder some of the weight. If everyone did this, no one would be too burdened, because someone else would always be there to help shoulder the weight of life’s challenges. So help someone out. Perhaps that will lead to someone else (someone totally unexpected) helping you shoulder what has been weighing you down.

Perseverance

As I type this, across the United States, and across the globe, students are digging into scholarship work. I am one of them. There are seemingly endless opportunities for students who want to be awarded money to help tackle college expenses. As I begin moving further into my senior year of high school, my scholarship work is strengthening my belief that diligence is what makes or breaks a person. Someone who lacks perseverance is bound to find themself facing the reality of their own failure. However, a person who strives to succeed in all of their pursuits and who does not stop working to make the most of what they have, is bound to, at some point, reflect upon the past, marveling at the successes they have come to in spite of the many obstacles they have faced.

Knowing this is helping me to make the decision to pursue every opportunity, making the best of every difficulty and enjoying the rewards that come from my hard work.

Turning to God

Some people may think that Christians just turn to God when they’ve hit a roadblock in life – when they’re out of answers and out of hope. And often times, I imagine, that’s true.

Keep in mind that turning to God doesn’t mean looking away from reality. It means facing reality. A relationship with Jesus doesn’t sprout from denial of the truth. It sprouts from acceptance of the truth. Some people may come to God as their last resort. They’ve saved the best for last.

Nuclear Weapons

In October of 1945, the United States dropped the world’s first two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The bombs killed an estimated total of 240,000 people. These two bombs would change the world.

Back in 1945, the United Nations was founded. The purpose of the UN was and is to stop wars between countries and to allow open discussion between leaders. By now, the world has frozen on several occasions, gripped by a very realistic fear of nuclear weapons. What’s needed today is a similar council, one composed of all national leaders, that works specifically to avoid the use and development of nuclear weapons.

This new council would work to provide a platform for open dialogue between world leaders – dialogue that would rule out nuclear weapons as a solution to problems. You see, the only way nuclear weapons will ever go away is through open communication.

I’m certainly no activist against nuclear power. These are just some of my thoughts.

Does America still have heroes?

There is a scholarship that requires students who apply to write an essay on the topic: “Does America Still Have Heroes?”. When I read the scholarship details, I knew my answer right away.

Yes, America has heroes. Thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands of them. But they look no different on the outside than anyone else. America’s heroes are common, but rarely noticed. They are powerful, but ordinary lifestyles keep them from being recognized as the heroes they are. Some are teachers. Some police. Some judges. Some are homeless. Others are wealthy.

They are those who step up to do what is right, even with a tough economy. Even with a war.

They may seem rare, but America’s heroes simply fly under the radar. Without them, our country, and our world, would crumble.

Some thoughts on education…

Roman Stoic philosopher Epictetus once said, “Only the educated are free.”

Now, I don’t know who Epictetus was, or if he’s someone to admire or frown upon, but I couldn’t agree more with him about education. When black slaves learned, they were set free at heart, and some became free physically. When I learn, I gain what is sweeter than gold or silver. It’s wisdom. It gets you through life. It’s everything. Without it, I’d always be lost.