Let Them Laugh

Recently, I have read books and listened to pastors who have confirmed ideas that I have had about Christianity all my life. People would laugh at my ideas and comments. “That will never happen,” is a phrase that I have heard more times in my life than I can count. I have begun to realize that as I am getting older, I wish I had listened to my ideas and words and not worry about those who laugh. Let them laugh.

We hear all the inspirational stories of people who have had it difficult either financially, or physically, or mentally, and how they overcame their challenges, including people taunting and/or discouraging them. Those are great stories to read, but when I have finished reading those stories, I have had to step up and face reality again. It is not just that incredible successful people have super powers. They have powers, but they are ones that we can all attain. They have the powers of resilience, determination, and motivation.

Resilience. It comes when we refuse to allow those who insult, criticize, or mock us to determine what we do or what we say. When we are pushed up against the wall and feel like we do not have any strength, we dig down deep and push away from all the jealousy, arrogance, and hatred and pursue our goals and dreams. Joseph, the son of Isaac, in the Old Testament had resilience. Every time an obstacle came into his life, he bounced back and thrived. He refused to allow his enemies to have power over him. Resilience gives you power and control and takes it away from those who have hurt you or have tried to hold you back. Resilient people refuse to allow human beings to have so much power or control over them that they turn from what is good.

Determination. Those who succeed have tried one million ways to reach their goals. They worked until they found that one strategy that took them to the top. We never read about all their failures. We are only privileged to their successes. We have to be determined to allow God to work in our lives and not give up when we fail or when life has trials. It means we keep going when the going feels like it is just flying down the hill of a roller coaster that lands in a dumpster. We continue on the ride and climb out of the dumpster of life and walk up the stairs on the roller coaster. (As a person who fears heights, I know that roller coasters have these.) We cannot give up on our goals or dreams, whether we are young or old, rich or poor, educated, or not educated, or whatever excuse we use. We have to go beyond the lies we have believed about ourselves in our entire lives and let people know the truth that shines within us.

Motivation. The reason why people succeed is that they have an end goal and they have a reason that motivates them to achieve that end goal. If our end goal is life affirming and aligned with the will of God, then it will create in us an urgency to fulfill it. If it is revenge, it will create anger and bitterness in our souls that will begin to be revealed by all of those who surround us, which will lead to them alienating us or infuriating us more. We must be motivated to reach our goals and dreams, and that requires us to forgive our enemies and push forward with what we need to do and not dwell on the past hurts that have motivated us toward anger and bitterness. Super heroes all have motivation to do the right thing in order to make the world a better place. What motivates us will be revealed in the end result.

By no means am I an expert on goals and dreams, but I have discovered that for far too long I have listened to the wrong voices in my life. I have allowed the laughter of others to hold me back from my dreams and goals. To those who still laugh, go ahead and laugh. I have more important work to be done. It is urgent. I will keep going no matter what obstacles get thrown in my way. I am determined to complete it, and motivated that what is aligned with the will of God is laughed at by those who do not know God or do not know God’s will. May the year of 2020 be a year for all of us to push away the blurriness of those who do not support us and see clearly in order for us to make a difference in the world around us, even when people laugh at us. Those same people who laugh today, are the same ones applauding the works and words that have been created by those at which they laughed, tomorrow.