Success!

What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

It took a few times reading this verse to really stick and understand what the Lord was telling me with it. I read it first in an email that I received.

I just spent the past four days in a continuing education class to add to my business toolbox for massage/body work. After hearing several of the other students in the class that I worked with tell me that I helped them feel good. It started to sink in that my success has nothing to do with how big my business is, how many articles/books I might have written, classes I taught or recognition by society of my work. My success is how many lives I've touched and helped improved. My success in the Lord is how many lives I've shared my testimony with & witnessed to them.

Here's a quick story by Ruth McGinnis, Singer & author:

One of the most powerful insights I've had as a result of this unexpected detour in my well-planned life is truly understanding that the value of my work--the books I've written, my instrumental recordings, the speaking and performing I've done for countless years--has nothing to do with commercial success. I always thought that to be "successful," I would have to register in the marketplace with some measurable impact, like making the New York Times best-sellers list. As a result, even though I've enjoyed a rewarding career as a creative person, I've always felt that somehow I'd never quite arrived--that my life was incomplete.

Having cancer has forever changed this. The cards, letters, gifts, phone calls, and emails I've received from people I know--and many I've never met--have revealed to me that the reach of my work and the value of my simply being here is greater than I ever could have imagined.

I am convinced this is true for each one of us. That we all tend to be hard on ourselves and measure our achievements against harsh standards. We fail to appreciate our own contributions, and we forget to acknowledge the gifts, beauty and efforts of others.

I will never think of success, fulfillment and contentment the way I used to. Cancer has swept the veil away from my eyes--has given me a new way of looking at life and rethinking everything. It is an unexpected gift.

How have you measured success in your life? We can all re-evaluate and reassess ourselves. Allow the Lord to use you how HE wants to.

Enjoy this music video: