dailydatewithgod

From the early stages of our lives we learn about value.  Before we learn the specifics, we hear the idea of values in conversation.  We also sense the values people have by watching and learning from them.  As adults we make decisions about what we value and use words to describe them.  We create goals that are in alignment with them and associate ourselves with others who hold the same values.  Yet our language is not enough. We speak volumes about what we value through our actions.  The way we choose to live our lives indicates to us and others what we value.  Anyone can talk a good game but if we are spending our time, attention and energy on things that do not add to the values we hold dear then words mean nothing.  The disconnect I have found in my life is when I adopt a value from someone else (family, friends, society, and so on) but have not fully decided if or how it is of value to me.  I think it is something I should value or that I should value it the way others do.  I may have a different understanding of what it means to value it.  As a recovering food addict I value living a healthy life and am grateful to have been given the chance to do so.  I do my best to stay up to date with what will contribute to it by what I eat and how I move.  However, the value of health does not involve jumping on the latest food trend because a bunch of people say it is good.  If I eat it and it messes with my piece of mind, a greater value, then I will not be partaking in it no matter how compelling the research.  It is not easy to stop and take a close look at our values, especially those we have held them for a long time. It is part of the process of growing up. God calls us to look at our values from the reference of our hearts.  If how I am thinking and behaving causes me to grow in love and open my heart then it is of value.  Since my relationship with God is my highest value I have had to let go of some things over time. It may feel good in the moment to criticize someone who is not in the room and even get some laughs from it, but did I create more love in that moment?  Which is more valuable, getting relief or being in alignment with how God sees me? It is all an imperfect process, at least for me.  Life in relationship with God is a dance.  You step forward, back, turn around, put one foot in front of the other and sometimes you learn to dance without any music.  But when I am dancing my heart is beating and I am alive.