Life Lessons with Boss Lady

It is 3:55a and I am awake. I have been up since 1:45a, I couldn’t sleep. It happens sometimes and I am sure it does to you as well. So many things on our minds…work, home, family, friends…our crazy world, gas prices, what’s for dinner, oh geeze we are out of trash bags, is Fall ever going to get here, I really need new tires, Christmas is in 17 weeks!…on and on.  It is often the things that make us anxious that keep us up past our bedtimes or like me, cause us to wake up in the middle of the night worried about things that I probably have no control over anyway so why am I up??!!! How about you…do you have a lot on your mind today?  I certainly do.

There are times like today when I am struggling with something, and because I keep thinking about it, it becomes an open loop and I make myself completely crazy looking for answers to resolve it so that I can close the loop and stop thinking about it. If only I would remember to pause and consciously bring my wild thoughts under control, an amazing thing happens…I can often recall scripture verses, wisdom from influential people in my life and lessons learned previously that would very likely help me if I would just STOP for a minute...but I am a stubborn human and I don’t pause naturally. I just keep playing the scenario over and over ad nauseum. When I do pause, the issues become lessons for me to learn and remember so that they don’t repeat themselves.  I suspect this is true for you as well.

I used to share these lessons learned with the team so that maybe the lessons wouldn’t be so hard for the next person and somewhere along the way the team caught on and someone started calling them, rather humorously “Life Lessons with Boss Lady.” It became a thing and then our organization grew really big and then they weren’t a thing anymore. I hope that those of you who remember them think fondly of them. If you were annoyed by them, just pretend that they were thought provoking and life altering. Okay, maybe that was bit much to ask. LOL! I am not a philosopher or a wise old sage…although the old part is certainly becoming more of a thing every day. The truth is that lately I haven’t paused much or given as much thought or attention to life’s lessons as I normally do…perhaps I have been too busy, too focused on all the things to slow down long enough to hear them. But, last week that changed.

About a month ago, I was contacted by a friend who asked if I would mind helping a clinic in Tulsa, called Crossover, that is considering becoming a community health center like we are and I was excited to help save them some bloody knees from falling down while trying to get there on their own. They are a completely wonderful group of people who are doing incredible things in their community in North Tulsa…the poorest and most dangerous part of Tulsa. In fact, a few years ago the statistics said that if you lived there in that zip code your average lifespan would be cut short by 17 years over any other zip code in the Tulsa area! This organization along with others in the community has moved that to closer to 10 effectively adding 7 years back to the lives of those whom they serve every day in that community. Meeting their team, hearing their incredible stories, and touring their community not only gave me a minute to pause but it completely recalibrated me and gave me a renewed commitment to the health of our community and the work we do. I spent two days with them, helping them understand the world of community health centers, but the true gift was getting to be with them and see how their faith, passion and service to their community is truly transforming healthcare delivery and building a healthier community…it was inspiring! My plan is to bring them to Ardmore to meet you all and tell their stories in person so that you too can be inspired.

The “life lesson” I want to share with you is that we all need recalibration from time to time.  We all get lost along the way or we get busy or distracted or focused on all sorts of things that really won’t matter tomorrow. We must be intentional about making time to recalibrate so that we can remain connected to or when lost gain a renewed sense of our purpose and connection to the why behind our passion.  Recalibration and reconnection allow you to refocus on things that really matter.  We were created to have purpose and passion and to use them for the good in the service to others.  Purpose and passion are gifts from God to be used for the good and benefit of others and not for ourselves. For if purpose and passion are spent on yourself, they are empty efforts but invested into the betterment of others, there is abundant joy and fulfillment. If we want the time and effort we make investing in our purpose and passion to count for something, they can never be about us because like it or not life is not about you or me. We are just here for a short time and your life is meant to count and to matter.  A life well lived is one that uses our God-given purpose and passion to serve others and, in some way…even if it is small…to make a difference, to matter, to make life count for someone else and to love others. My new friends in Tulsa understand this deeply and by sharing their purpose and passion for loving and serving their community with me, it recalibrated me back towards my purpose and passion.  And the best part is…they didn’t know that they did way more for me than I could have ever done for them.

My prayer for you today is that you would take an intentional pause and give yourself time to recalibrate with your purpose and passion and if you don’t know what those are for you, that is okay…start by serving the person in front of you with all you have and without expecting anything in return and maybe, if you will listen you will find it.

You are loved but even more by Jesus. ~ Boss Lady

PS - My alarm just went off, time to get ready for the day.  If you see me today and I look tired or have bags under my eyes…no judgement.  LOL