Just One...

I subscribe to e-mails from a lady whose purpose is to help those of us who get sidetracked easily stay on track with our homes (link to it by clicking on the title above), and I just got done reading this e-mail:

Dear FlyLady,

You may not know it, but you have had a direct and highly positive impact on our war effort in Iraq. Most notably, your organizational discipline has translated wonderfully to our Iraqi allies, specifically the Army that I train and fight alongside. I recently had the chance to read some of my wife's FlyLady e-mails and realized that this is exactly the kind of systematic approach and common sense needed to get things going over here. So one thing led to another...Now the Iraqi Soldiers have issues. Talk about Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome! These folks had lived in CHAOS for some 24 years, enforced by one of the most evil, selfish persons imaginable. They had"clutter" on a societal-in fact, a galactic-scale. They have a lot of guilt and problems built up. There gear was nasty. Their barracks were a mess. They had forgotten how to fight. And now they have the whole world over, or at least the good parts of it, here to help them learn, here to do business with them, and here to welcome them into the family of responsible countries.The Iraqi Army did not get this way overnight and they will not get fixed in a day. So I echo you and tell them that they are not behind,and that each day we start right where we are. No flip-flops on guard-get dressed up in boots and lace them up. Clean our rifle daily, first thing. Focus on one "hot spot" mess every day. Document our useful procedures in simple lists. Follow the before operations checklist. Follow the after operations checklist. We are building our routines and our procedures one habit at a time. Ensure our Soldiers eat, sleep, and exercise daily-very important when the heat gets up to 120 degrees!It sounds strange, but these FlyBaby steps, translated into Arabic and a military context, are keeping our people alive and safe. We stick to salutes and pats on the back instead of hugs, but you get the idea,and so do our Iraqi friends.Thank you, FlyLady, for your contribution to our efforts to protect Iraqis and Americans.
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FlyLady here: OH MY! Purple Puddles, I am so proud of you and your Army for protecting us and for helping the Iraqis people get back on their feet. May God watch over you! I would also like to thank all the families of our service men and women for taking care of the homefront. I have to go to bed now! This one really touched my heart and it is hard for me to stop the purple puddles! How in the world can one wish to help one person do this? Finally Loving Yourself is the God Breeze that changes the world one BabyStep at a time!

I was struck by this e-mail because I knew "Flylady" before she had hundreds of thousands of people subscribing to her e-mail reminders. I knew her from a little bulletin board type chat room that I used to go on when we lived in Redding ~ and it was then that some people were encouraging her to set up her system as an e-mail option for the rest of us. She took a chance and did what she believed God was calling her to. Now, 6 years later, she has helped hundreds of thousands of people let go of guilt for not being the perfect housekeeper, and she has helped as many people get a handle on their homes so they don't feel overwhelmed by it and can live the life God has given them to it's fullest...never, though, did she expect to help so many. As she said...she had ONE wish to help ONE person and now she is touching a country that is for the first time in many, many years experiencing the freedom they longed for.

I ran across this quote from Ghandi: Consciously or unconsciously, everyone of us does render some service or another. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger, and it will make not only for our own happiness, but that of the world at large. It seems to fit here perfectly.

Of course, the e-mail is moving and inspiring, but I think the reason it hit me so deeply is because just this afternoon I read an e-mail from my cousin, David, and he got me to thinking about the dreams God puts in us ~ Flylady's subject heading on her e-mail was "I never dreamed this big!" How true is that for all of us? If our dreams are small ~ to reach just one person; to touch the lives of just those around us; to just live our lives for Jesus in being the very best of who He made us to be ~ He takes what is surrendered to Him and does the most amazing things with it!

And for those of us whose dreams are bigger than maybe we think they should be....well, since I'm one of them, I want to say that we should never lose sight of what He has placed in us. NEVER GIVE UP on who GOD HIMSELF has formed you to be!!

Ugh ~ my mind's getting kind of random now as I think of all the dreams I've had in my life that I gave up on because I simply didn't think Tracy Jo Tooley-Foskett was created to be anything more than some girl on the census pages. It has only been in recent years that I have begun to see that God placed those dreams in me. I certainly haven't acquired on my own the desire to reach out and encourage people to risk being something greater than they ever imagined ~ that's Him. And it's only been in as many years that I have come to understand the dreams GOD has put inside of me will see their fruition...in His time. I love the saying "when it's up to you there may be all sorts of obstacles that can hold you back, but when God says "go" there is nothing that can get in your way." No, for those of us who dream big I think the worst part is the waiting for Him to say, "okay, now you're ready ~ go for it!"

Mother Theresa said, "I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness."

Gandhi, Mother Theresa, FlyLady...none of them started out saying "I think I'll go change the world." No, they started out saying, "show me the one You want me to touch, Lord...and I'll do what I can to the best that I can." Dream...whether it's big or small...dream. And then take one step ~ and then another ~ and then another. Surrender your dreams to the One who gave them to you, and let HIM do the running with them. (and, yes, I'm writing this as much to myself as to anyone else who may read this....I must remember that when I take one step it is not the entire journey. How easy it is to get lost in the dream and fail to take the steps required to be worthy of it.)

Lord, I pray for the faithfulness it takes to be who You created me to be! May my life be one that is used for Your glory in the lives of those You have given me to touch.