I was 21 years old, on top of the world, chasing my childhood dream of becoming a Major League baseball player, pitching for the New York Yankees single A team, had a fantastic girlfriend (to become my beautiful wifeJ two years later) and yet, I’d find myself struggling with the question: Is this all there is? It was a strange occurrence because outwardly things seemed to be going so well and I was having fun, but inwardly there was a void and I couldn’t shake it. I started asking myself, “Why am I here?” Everything was centered around ME and it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t satisfying a deep place in my soul – something was missing.
Spirituality is the part of us that is often overlooked, covered up, denied, and often most questioned. It can answer some of the toughest questions we, humans, ask like WHY? Why am I here? Why do bad things happen to good people? Or questions about our existence, our purpose, what happens when we die, etc.
In my time of soul searching the answer resided in the person of Jesus Christ. What he stood for, died for, and passed on to others to continue resonated with my soul. Life was no longer about SELF, but it was about something much bigger than me. It was about OTHERS! It was about loving people, caring for people, making a difference in the world, using my gifts and talents to impact others for the good, and in my small way help bring heaven to earth. Over the years, I’ve found Jesus’ teachings to be challenging, life-changing, and impactful. The more I study and follow Him the more I see I have to go. But, I have to say, my life is now about this Great Adventure and it has been the best thing to ever happen to me, my wife and my family.
What do you wrestle with? What have you done with questions like – Why am I here? Why do bad things happen to good people? What happens when we die? These questions are worth wrestling with. Maybe you’ll land on something different than me and that’s okay, but it’s the process of really wrestling with spirituality because this is a part of who we are. If we don’t fulfill this part of our souls, we will be walking around with a void.
No matter where you land, I want to challenge you to think about living your life for OTHERS and not SELF. I believe you will learn so much more about who you are and how you can spend your time, money and resources to impact other people’s lives. When you do this, I think you will discover a truth about yourself that you never knew before. And yes, you will get hurt, and yes, people will try to take advantage of you, and yes, life still happens, but if at the end of the day, you make it about others, I think you will be able to have the gift of peace, the gift of love, the gift of relationships, the gift of a life well lived – it’s worth the risk. I hope you take it!
