I’m an odd duck. I came to terms with this a long time ago. Realizing this has kept me out of the comparison game. I don’t have to be like anybody else, because I’m not for the most part.

I remember wanting to be cool like everyone else. I liked the way they dressed. I liked the way they walked. I liked who they hung out with. I was jealous and I couldn’t tell you why. Do you know what I mean?

Then, one day, you find a group of friends who accept you just as you are. You don’t have to play the comparison game, because they like you for you. Your differences bring you together. It is an awesome feeling.

I’m thankful for friends like this. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been apart, everything falls back into place very quickly. Conversation gets easy. Everything is familiar, just like being home…because it is home.

I have some friendships like this. I am so thankful for them. If I’m honest, I would invite more friendships like this to be. Getting to be with people and enjoy them and their company in that judgement free space…that’s the good stuff.

It’s so awesome to be odd, and be accepted for it.

Today is day 23 of my 100 Day Strong journey. It has been a good day, in part because I realize that I’m almost 25% through my goal and I’m still going strong. Strong enough to make 100 days straight? Time will tell.

My question for today: why do we make it harder than it really is?

Setting and achieving goals is really not that complicated. It takes discipline, which means we have to work at it. It is worth it and so doable, if we will just get a plan together and get after it.

As the fortune cookie once said: If you don’t know where you want to go, how will you ever get there?

That is what got me on the path I am on now. I had the desire. I knew what I wanted to do. The piece that out it all together? Yep, you guessed it. A plan.

My first day of the journey I detailed seven daily steps I wanted to take. All together they take less than two hours a day to achieve and that commitment now has me moving forward where I had stalled out.

I was making it harder than it should have been because I didn’t have a plan.

How about you? What are you trying to achieve? What is your plan to get there?

Why do things always seem magnified when you’re tired? I know it’s not just me, but I hate it when I blow things out of proportion. Many times when I check my motives, I realize I’m not trying to be disagreeable. I’m just tired? Can you relate?

Whether it is from the activity of a long day or just the mental stress of too much on my mind, there are times when I know I need a break. I usually don’t take them when I need them. In an effort to soldier through and get things done by end of more burned out that I intend to.

I wonder if that is why Jesus told us to come to Him when we’re weary. Do you remember that verse?

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NLT

I think when we go to Him, He gives us a chance to re-order our priorities. He gives us clarity to see what is important, and if we focus on Him for long enough, everything else can fade away. Not only can we find rest, we can find perspective.

I know that I am guilty of not going to Him often enough when I’m weary. I wear it as a symbol of pride to keep going and keep pushing. It’s nothing to be proud of. Feeling burned out is nothing to be proud of.

If I’m honest, I don’t need to just go to Him when I’m weary. I just need to go to Him. If I did this consistently, I have a feeling the weariness wouldn’t find me. Sure, I’d get tired from the hard days work, but not weary. He would provide strength to make it through. He is good at that.

Today is day 21. For three straight weeks I have stuck to my journey. I am on path to reach my 100 Strong goal. I am 20% complete. Where will I find myself in 79 days? I can’t wait to find out.

Two lessons I have learned thus far:

1. Discipline is far greater than motivation. Choosing what you want to do beforehand makes things so much easier. I know what my daily goals are. I set out to achieve them early. So far, so good.

2. I have wasted a lot of years that could have been spent benefiting from my first observation. However, the past is gone and can not come back. I have to do my best with the present. So, I march on toward my goal.

On to week 4. This is getting exciting.

Dry. Barren. That is what the desert is. It is full of everything, but life. There is death. There is decay. There are bones. Bones of those who didn’t survive. Bones of those who wanted a better day and didn’t find one. Bones.

What if the bones could live again? What if the bones could once again be covered with muscle and flesh? What if the bones were filled with breathing lungs and a beating heart? What if?

I was reading my morning devotional today. In Ezekiel 37, the Lord gave the prophet a vision. He swept Ezekiel away and showed him a valley that was full of bones. The bones were scattered. They were dried out. Life was nowhere to be found. The Lord then asked a question, “Son of man, can these bones become living people again?”

I believe what the prophet saw was a metaphor for what God wanted to do with the nation of Israel. They were dead in their sins. Spiritually they were nothing, but bones. A dead and dry wasteland that God wanted to revive and make whole.

In this vision Ezekiel watched as the bones were scattered, became reattached to form skeletons, were covered with muscle and flesh, and finally had breath breathed back into their lungs. The valley that was once only dead bones was alive and now a vast army of the miraculous.

There has been more than one season in my life where I felt completely dry. It seemed it had been ages since I had felt the cool wind on my face. I was frustrated. I was hurt. I needed God and had to admit it. And then…

God showed up. He healed. He restored. What was once a dry waste land was now my life that was vibrant and alive. I know that God was watching over me. He was waiting patiently for me. He wanted to restore me. I just needed to do what Israel needed to do…I needed to draw close. I needed God. I found Him. I found Him in my health. I found Him in my career. I found Him in my relationships.

I believe that God is a healer. He is the restorer. There is a reason the Bible says if you draw close to Him, He will draw close to you. If you are far away from Him today, please don’t wait any longer. He is only as far as a breath. He wants you to talk to Him. Tell Him your struggle and frustration. Admit your failures. Accept the plan He has for your life. You may be dry bones now, but wait until God shows up. Show up He will.