You can read my other posts about the Abundant life here and here. But today I wanted to talk a little more between the difference between AN abundant life and THE Abundant Life.
I think AN abundant life is possible for everyone but THE abundant life is something totally different. But let’s start with AN.
So the first thing to realize about an abundant life is it will not look like anyone else’s. That’s good, that’s how it should be because we’re all different. An abundant life is about how you’re wired and what brings you joy. What are the things that make you feel like you’ve accomplished something and contributed to your community?
Now let’s talk about THE abundant life. I don’t know where you’re at your faith walk, but this is the faith part of life. As a Christian, this is the understanding that God has a big plan and adventure for you and it’s more than even your wildest dreams. But this only happens if you sign up for it “so to speak.” God has an abundant life option for everyone but just like an Olympic athlete that sacrifices a “Normal” life, if you want THE abundant life, you will have to sacrifice “Normal.”
And it’s not a choosing factor between AN and THE. Really the search for an abundant life should lead you to the abundant life. I think if we honestly are seeking the best life for ourselves and the ones we love, then we’re going to find the abundant life.
An Abundant Life
So how do I start looking for this “better than I can believe” kind of life? Well, it starts with who we are as individuals. What are your hopes and dreams, what are the big scary things that you think will never happen or aren’t for you, or are straight-up impossible? Start writing down what you hope life will look like. This gives you a direction to focus on, rather than just waiting for something to happen.
The Abundant Life
God steps in by building on that. The Abundant life will build on those hopes and dreams in a way you could never imagine. God made you unique, and so the core of your hopes and dreams aren’t going to pull you in a direction opposite of God, but he will use those to get you to something bigger and better than you could have done or arrived at yourself.
There were things I knew I wanted in life, but they didn’t come how I planned. Getting married is one of them. I thought I would go off to college and meet my minister husband and we would do great things for God together. What really happened is I was single until I was 32 and met my now husband who is a Chemist and makes soap for a living. But he loves God, and we do great things for God together.
The parts of our hopes and dreams that really matter, don’t disappear, but the packaging of them might as we shift from an to the abundant life.
