Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom. I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come: As fish are caught in a cruel net or birds are taken in a snare, so men are trapped by evil times that fall unexpectedly upon them. Ecclesiastes 9:10-12
When we are young we are filled with dreams and plans for our adult life. Some of us dream of becoming nurses, businesswomen and even president of the United States but too often our dreams are derailed by life and the list of excuses it so generously gives us. When all is said and done, we find ourselves so busy that we can hardly catch our breath after caring, tending and minding the lives of our families and dealing with the craziness that comes our way. On those rare occasions that we sit a moment and exhale, we remember, if only for a moment those dreams of long ago and wonder, where did the time go. We realize that those dreams of climbing Mt. Everest, writing the great American novel or discovering the cure for breast cancer still lives in our minds and hearts, hidden, covered up under the dreams of others that we've lived and worked towards at the sacrifice of our own.
Well, I'm hear to tell you my beautiful sisters, that it's never too late to make that dream, no matter what it is, come true. Age, graying temples and everything else we've allowed to convince us that our time has passed, can no longer stop us, for time is short and we must realize that it doesn't matter how long it takes us to climb that mountain, or start that business, what matters is that we did climb it and that we did start it! Endurance, seeing our dreams to the end, trumps speed-every time. I challenge each of you to begin now working with all your might, towards something that fulfills you, that satisfies a secret passion within you. Life is uncertain and we don't know how many days we've been assigned; it's important to work toward our dreams and desires never stopping until we have fulfilled that special something. God has made us for a purpose, and that purpose is to be excellent and not mediocre. Our purpose is to live fulfilled lives and not lives of regret.
As we begin this conference year let's challenge one another to get busy working toward those unfulfilled dreams. Let us pursue excellence and greatness and let us vow today to reject mediocrity for God did not make ordinary, he designed extraordinary.
Be Blessed...
