A Message From Matt

A MESSAGE FROM MATT:

(I am thankful for this guest post from Matt. He wrote it last week as we reflected on his transplant journey. Of all the things he could be thinking about, he chooses to look inward and reflect on who God is calling him to be. )

When I was little I could barely write to save my life.

Every sentence felt like a new topic as my brain bounced from idea to idea while my hand scribbled across the page, desperately trying to keep up.

It wasn’t until my wise and incredible tutor helped me to organize my thoughts that I began to love the process of writing. The way she did this was simple. She took a blank piece of paper and drew a heart by the first lines and asked me, “What is at the heart of what you are trying to say?” Once I found that core idea, the rest of my writing began to fall into place.

As I pass Day 100 and look ahead, I have found myself looking at my life and wondering the same question, “What is at the heart of how you are trying to live?”

What has driven me for so long is a desire to love and serve other people, following the example that Jesus set during his life.

But during my recent soul searching, I’ve found myself more concerned with how I do that rather than why. After I got sick three years ago, I became determined to get my degree and become a teacher, and that vessel became more important than what it contained. I focused on how I could get students to love learning rather than how I could learn to love my students.

For myself, and many others, this can be a time of revival. Our jobs, relationships, and routines of life have changed, paving the way for a new normal to emerge.

As we begin to create and mold this new phase of life, I think we all could benefit from taking a moment to reflect on what is at the heart of our lives. It’s an idea that will look different for everyone and has no wrong answers as long as you're true to yourself.

Once you have it, let it be a North Star, a constant reminder of the person you want to be, even if that's not the person you are today. And if you find you have been headed off track, give yourself grace, and find a way to take one step closer tomorrow.

What is at the heart of how you are trying to live? I’d love to know.