Collin Sees the World

"Daddy, look its the moon." , Collin.
"Yeah Collin, it's the moon.", Brett.
"Can we go there?", Collin.
"I don't think so buddy, it's 238,000 miles away", Brett.
"...let's take the car!", Collin.

Another Year Older, Another Year Wiser

It is true. With each year, we grow.

We learn. We learn what it means to be alive. Some think that we are growing into adulthood. To me, this implies something. This implies that we are measured on a maturity level, based on how many years we are old.

If this be so, than with every birth date that comes around, we are that much closer to "adulthood", we are that much closer to becoming the chaperon, the responsible one, the leader.

But shouldn't your growth be measured on experiences?

How you handled those experiences, what they taught you, how you implemented those things you have learned?

Aren't qualities such as loyalty, leadership, perseverance, acceptance, and respect, character traits for people of all ages?

I am an adult, not because I have reached the brink of my years as a teen, but because of the wisdom I have gathered while surviving those years.

I should be held accountable for my actions, not because I am of a legal age, but because I am of a sound mind.

Perfection in no way comes in your life time, adult and child alike.

You will make mistakes, learning from them is key.

Remember your neighbor before yourself, not because you'll feel good afterwards, but because you know if you were in there shoes, you would want assistants.

Embrace unlikeminded people. No one thinks exactly like you, no one.

Finally, when you stumble and fall, realize what you tripped on and vow never to let it happen again.

Everyone falls, a true leader knows that.

Autumn Chorus

As the leaves roll by

They steal my heart

As the leaves roll by

My mind trails away

Simplicity grabs me

As the leaves roll by

Making me breathe

Making me breathe

As the leaves roll by

I am captured by true colors

Colors of the world

As the leaves roll by

They hold me in warmth

Calm and safe

As the leaves roll by

I hear their melodies of fall

As the leaves roll by

They sing peace to me

Never Alone

This is what it means to be

To live and breathe

To catch an eye and a sly grin

To push your feet in the water

To let the rain smash your tears away

To cry

To know why you cry

To sob and be held by someone who understands you

This is what it means to be

To look in the mirror with admiration

To flush away your deprecation

To flutter at the sight of a name

To have your name fluttered over

To nap, and dream

To see places crafted with holy hands

This is what it means to be

To make another's load lighter

To laugh until you ache with humor

To sing low jazz in the shower

To take long, slow autumn walks

To sip something warm and gaze at the stars

To realize how much of the universe goes on with out you

To release your stress and cares

To jump from some ridiculous height

This is what it means to be

To pray to your creator

To feel His protection cover you

To read of his comforting word

To know you're never alone

To walk broadly into a bright unknown future

To know you're never alone

Don't Wanna Want It

Every time I run away

Your memory remains with me

I can't erase you from my life

You're here for all the world to see

Won't you fade away with pain

Release my heart and let me be

Drenched with shame and fruitless dreams

To think I handed you the key

I let you steal away my joy

Drained of all that made me free

Never will it ever be

That I love you, and you love me

The Only Home I Know

The odor of sweat and urine coming off of my costume was unbearable. I was wearing an authentic Union Soldier’s uniform, donated to the theatre by the local chapter of the Son’s of the Confederacy. The costume itself weighed about forty pounds, not including the Civil War era rifle hanging over my shoulder. The air in the theatre was good, but it was no match for the pounds of wool I was sporting. Though the costume and the microphone taped down my spine, made for an uncomfortable working condition, it wasn’t all that was bothering me. This might be the last time I perform with my twin brother, my driving force for the last eighteen years.

The musical Shenandoah is set during the American Civil War, and portrays the war as a horrible affair that pinned father against son, and brother against brother. In the second Act, there’s a moment where a young Confederate Corporal sings “The Only Home I Know”. In the song, the soldier yearns for the home he left behind, but heartbreakingly realizes that it will never be the same. At this point the war is over, and he has lost more than just the war, he’s lost everything.

I have always been number five of six kids, and number one of a set of twins. As a kid I learned to talk as fast and as loud as I could, in order to get my point across. There was a constant strive for affection, and mindset of perpetual competition. The act of being noticed was especially hard for me, having a person that was exactly like me. My twin brother, David, and I have always been fused together, whether we liked it or not. And at times it felt like we were one single person, with two separate heads.

No one has ever commented on just how tall I was, or just complimented the way I looked. David and I have the same curled blonde hair, the same wide, defined jaw bone, even the same caterpillar eye brows. It is nearly impossible to be considered individuals, when you are genetically the same. Our resemblance goes past the superficial surface, and follows us deep into our mannerisms, even our laugh is identical.

When we were alone in our back yard, we would pretend to be other people. The two of us could play for hours; we got along better when we were two separate characters. We would climb up into our clubhouse, and David would declare he was the Blue Power Ranger. Then, in an effort to outdo him, I would exclaim that I was the Red Ranger, the leader of all Rangers.

It has never been about who was the best, between me and David, it has always been about who people thought was the best. We started singing at a young age, purely for the competition of seeing who was the loudest. We would do anything, and everything, just to one up one another.

And though I was always trying to distance myself from him, in the back of my mind I always felt discomfort without him. He was my crutch, walking without him was nearly impossible. I needed to beat him, but I needed him to be there when I did it.

The musical Shenandoah was a challenge, because we did not beat each other. They made the Corporal’s song a duet; we were to sing it together as brothers. The brothers in the show would represent two different sides of the war, trying to support their cause and each other. Though this should have been a realization that we were in fact equals, I knew in the back of my mind it was just another fight to see who would reach the top. I would have to strive to out shine him, and not end up the one hidden beneath the other’s shadow.

Although singing with David was second nature, and I have been doing it since I was in the first grade, this time would be different. This would most likely be my last time to perform with him. With me going to the University of Mississippi in the fall, and David going to Memphis, my time with him was coming to an end. There would not be an opportunity like this for us again. Though I would love to say that I would be happy on my own, I am not quite certain that is true.

Until my senior year of high school, I had never spent more than a weekend alone. David was by my side, literally, for almost every day of my whole entire life. A part of me was more than ready to let that go. I had an understandable desire to make my own decisions, without considering another person, and what they wanted. I had to find my own voice in the world, and prove that I was an individual, and not just half of a whole. Breaking apart from David was a necessity to my survival, otherwise I would inevitably suffocate. But, even though I knew I had to, leaving David behind would still be the hardest thing I had ever done.

“The Only Home I Know” spoke to me. It was about losing home, and not finding another one like it. To me, David was home personified. He was everything I would lose by leaving. I do not want him to change while I’m gone; I want home to be the way it was. He has always completely understood who I was, and I can’t fathom that changing. I can’t fathom him changing.

The stage itself juts out into a curve in front of the rows of seating. The theatre is completely black, with the exception of one single spotlight in the center of the platform. I stare out amongst the audience, from the back of the theatre, where I enter. David gradually eases into the single spotlight, center stage.

As I sit in the darkness, I’m over taken with the thought of loneliness. I have never been alone. I have never been without my security blanket. If I walk down to that stage, it will be the end of an era. It will be the end of the saga of Micah and David. This ending will give birth to a new chapter in my life, a chapter I have to write on my own, with all of my own thoughts and feelings.

I start my slow descent onto life’s stage, once again. I look up into David’s eyes, my eyes, and I sing. “The willow that I used to climb, may bend a little more, the paint may all be peelin’ off the front porch and the door. No matter where I’m headed back or whistling as I go, please let it be the way it was, the only home I know!” And with my final note, I felt the extraction I had dreaded from the womb we had shared our entire lives.

Standing at the edge of the stage, I look to my twin, and I see him in a new light. He is different; he is not a second head or an attachment. He’s his own independent human being. Looking at his face, I am not struck by a reflection, but I know that the change I see in him, matches the change that I feel. The light on my face is the sunlight stretching from a new day, my own path I must take.

We were always compared, because we were always comparable. David and I were in the same spotlight, giving the same show. Now we would break ground in different fields of life. And though I will pray for his success, I must worry about myself from here on out. The days which required him are over, if I don’t need him, I know he doesn’t need me.

I'll play piano...if you sing soprano!

So what if I fade away

As long as I lived for today

And didn't care about tomorrows

Or worry about my sorrows

The future is a bright one dear

But it's outcome is unclear

So dance until the evening

Feel the rhythm beating

Money can't buy happiness

My finances are a mess

I'll gift you with a song

You can sing along

Let's enjoy the present time

You won't even spend a dime

Open up, and show your eyes

See what closing them denies

There's a world of people living

People taking, but people giving

It's a personal choice to make

In this world of give and take

"Let me share, every moment, every sweet surprise..."

The Lady in the Yellow Hat

She walks the line of beauty and grace

With yellow brim in tow

She wears disgrace upon her face

But still her plants will grow

For she sows the seeds of regret

And they will keep on sprouting

One for everyone she’s met

And for all she’s doubting

She’ll wear her sunshine hat on top

To let you know she’s joyful

Never will she let it drop

Hiding all that's shameful

She’ll work until her day is done

She’ll never lift her head

For her secrets in the glaring sun

She'll hold it till she’s dead

"I know who I am, I am your's" Part 2

College. It's much different from what you're use to, it should be. The curriculum is more advanced, the classrooms are bigger, and most likely you will walk quite a few miles a day. Yet, though the course schedule is rough, it certainly is not the most overwhelming aspect of the University lifestyle.

High Schoolers as a whole, if they are like I was, have a substantial number of misconceptions about going off to school.

For example, living in a dorm isn't living on your own. My dorm room gives me no more freedom than my room back home did, actually a whole lot less!

- I can't do laundry when I want

- The bathroom down the hall is neither clean, nor private

- There isn't a kitchen like the one back home (no fridge/pantry full of snacks!!)

- Unless your roommate has an additional apartment somewhere, you will never be alone

- And finally, and most painfully, you WILL NOT see your family as much as you want to

Now, don't let this discourage you. Let it challenge you.

I wake up everyday with more than a zillion things to accomplish. Even taking a shower in the mornings becomes something else to conquer, but that's what you have to do, you have to conquer it.

College is just the next step in life, and with every step comes that step's test and trials!

The biggest misconception about this world of higher learning, is the road of self discovery. Every new day is a test of who you are. Being here, I have proven to myself who I am, who I know I should be.

COLLEGE IS NOT THE PLACE TO REINVENT YOURSELF!!

Find out what makes you....you! Maybe let something in you die away, but never ever lose sight of who you are, or where you have come from.

And if you get confused, which is bound to happen, look to your roots. Look to home, where you came from.

I see me in my nephews, Collin and Caleb. I see me, with them in my arms.

I know who I am...I know who I have always been.

I'm Uncle Micah.

"I know who I am, I am your's."

Since I was a small child, I have always been told about the adult world. I have constantly had it described to me. And, even though it was always described as difficult and a "rude awakening", I was unwavering in thinking that it simply meant freedom. Freedom to think the way I wanted to think, be who I wanted to be.

I'm unsure of when adulthood starts, if it's an age or state of mind. What I am sure of, is that I'm Micah Winter. I was born with a specific destiny in mind for me. And, if adulthood is a time to be held accountable for your actions, then I am and have been an adult for sometime. There is a God, and he has expectations for me. The freedom that I longed for as a child is what he's given me. The trick is this freedom comes with decisions. There is in fact a destiny and an anointed path to take, but it unfortunately isn't the only option to choose from.

As for me, I've chosen my path. I will learn, and I will teach. I'm to be a motivator, to give inspiration to a future generation of students.

Today I live in Kincannon room 652, at the University of Mississippi. I WILL get a degree, and continue to wait on his sunrise to meet me. I will continue to seek him, and follow his will for my life. I don't know where I'll be, but I know who I'll be with, and I know I'll be safe.

In the Eye of the Beholder

The beauty's in your smile, dear

Throw reflections down

Push oppression from your ear

And listen to me now

The Beauty's in your eyes, my dear

Never in your thighs

So, wipe away all your tears

And, let depression die

It's your burst of laughter, dear

The way you toss your hair

The beauty's in your mind, my dear

Please release your care

The Lovers' Duet

And hear it soars

The piercing vibrato

Your lion's roar

Seemless legato

You sing your call

Light, to me

I'll forever recall

Your perfect key

The key to my sound

You release my cry

Me on the ground

You in the sky

You've opened the door

Deep from my soul

It comes from my core

My low, dulcet roll

I beckon my Queen

Come off your throne

And let's be seen

Combining our tone

Your voice is a spring
Pure and flowing

My heart you sing

My heart is glowing

The flowing of the tides...keep flowing.

Life in words
Living color
Describe with passion
Describe with grandeur

Paint your soul
Sing your love
Don't forget
The morning dove

Because mornings,
The rising sun,
All will end
When day is done

So, don't forget
The race you run
Soon will end
With setting sun

"Even the darkest nights will end, and the sun will rise!"

Unzip your skin

And let it free fall

Drop your covers

It's time to show all

Religion's a fool's sport

I don't play that

Living in bondage

Ain't where I'm at

Life's about living

But people are lame

Heads up their asses

They'll always be the same

Life is burning

God stokes the fire

Dwindles quickly

Live by your desire

Windows are for looking

But for looking out

Scared to the bone

Holding all your doubt

The picture is beautiful

Landscaped for you

Working to hard?

You have nothing to do!!

Oppression's not in chains

It's a state of mind

Break free from yourself

Or you'll be left behind

He taught me how to love

I'll surely love another

But they won't break the bond

That me and God have together

You wanna know how to live?

Look to your Creator

Summer Days Are Swiftly Coming

Summer days are swiftly moving

Do you feel the air?

It's warm, it's coming

Take my hand, let us fly

Do you feel the love?

Say no, I'll die

Kiss me, and do so deeply

Do you taste it?

Be here, linger sweetly

Touch my face, I touch your's too

Do you feel my heart?

It races just for you

Rain, Pour, Wash

Drip, Drip pour

Devour what I was before

Drip, Drip pour

Feed me life and give me more

Drip, Drip pour

Show me what you have in store

Rain, Rain drown

Clean me in, and blow me down

Rain, Rain drown

Clothe my heart, but take my crown

Rain, Rain drown

My heart only beats, when your around

"I am looking through Rose colored shades. I have learnt how to live...How to be In the world and Of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run away from life. Or from love either..." -Audrey Hepburn (Sabrina)

The Lesson of Love

This week I am moving into my grandparent's home. Two of the greatest influence's of my life. Anna Judith Winter(Judy) and Marion Edcar Winter(Ed). Together they taught me how to work hard, to nurture, to be nurtured, and to eat. They showed everyday what it meant to be constantly devoted to a savior. Grandpa and Grandma loved me unconditionally, they wanted me. The greatest feeling in the world is one of self worth, and they had a determination to show me mine. I have two brothers, three sisters, and a myriad amount of cousins; and I guarantee they all felt this way.

Their greatest lesson, however, was the lesson of marriage, how to love each other. They never had much money, but they always had each other, they always had their family. My grandparents had five children together: my Uncle Phillip, my Aunt Cecilia, my father, and my Aunt Shirley. My Grandpa, like most men of the time, enlisted in the arm forces. He was in the U.S. Coast Guard, while my Grandma was at home with four kids. It seems to me that my Grandpa only thought of his family, while in Japan he had portraits made of them, he sent them letters. He wanted only to be there, with them.

My grandparents truly loved one another. They were married for over fifty years. They built a home, in love and in foundation. They planted seeds together, and the fruits of their labor stand true today, a garden, a family. They provided for their family in all the ways they knew how to, and they did it all together...as one body. Marriage...one body.

When my Grandpa died, most say, so did my Grandma. It's hard for a body to stand, when it has no legs...no firm foundation. Grandma has been moved to a nursing home, and every time someone visits, she cries. It's the familiar faces, the reminder of a home, a spiritual home, that make her cry. I don't believe she'll ever truly be at home without him.

That's love.

Living through the sunrise...

"...The rising sun will come to us from heaven, to shine on those living in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace..." Luke 1: 78-79

The sun will rise
It will tan my skin
The sun will rise
It will warm within
But if that sun don't rise
Then I'll shrivel, I'll die
And If that sun don't rise
I'd be sorry I said "Good bye."

The rising of the sun is such a spectacular life lesson!! It is not fickle, it is unwavering. When I feel down trodden, all I have to do is wait. Every morning my God rises the sun to meet me, and a new day. There well may be many sunrises in my life. I will thank the Lord for every one.

"For most people, we often marvel at the beauty of a sunrise or the magnificence of a full moon, but it is impossible to fathom the magnitude of the universe that surrounds us"- Richard H. Baker

My Greatest Passenger

The road is open

The road is tough

Keep your eyes foward

Or the trek get's rough

Because this one's feirce

You can't crumble

It's not for the weak

But it is for the humble

Take small steps

Know the unmotivated fail

Realize your potential

And your strides will prevail

Home is where my heart is.

It's time to pick up and leave. Pack my things up, in search for a new home. We moved here over a year ago, and now our time here has come to an end. I don't think I will ever be completely comfortable with moving away from a place I called home. There's a certain bit of security that a heart needs, and it's found in stability...stability only a home can give. A home gives sanity, a place where you can always hang your hat.

In life, we are all searching for our home, whether it is love or bricks and a bed. Our hearts yearn for a familiar face, a familiar place. And in such an uncertain time as this, we will look to the thing we call home. We will look to it for comfort, for encouragement. With college approaching quickly, and having to uproot my life, home is becoming such a distant entity. And it's becoming harder and harder to trust a place enough to call it home. I'm scared.

It's becoming just God and me. We are the last ones left, and I'm worried I'll buckle under the pressure...and my half of the battle will fail. The time has come to do the process of change into a man, and grow into my own self. But I question whether I have the strength, and the will, to do such a transformation. Do I have the strength to make difficult decisions, even if the are the best possible options? Do I have the will, the want, to leave a life that I am comfortable in? God only knows, and time will tell.

Rockferry

"I'll move to Rockferry tomorrow

And I'll build my house baby with sorrow

I'll leave my shadow to fall behind

And I wouldn't write to you 'cause I'm not that kind

Not that kind"

"I'll leave the stars to judge my every move"

Up in the air

Meet me in the air

Only if you dare

Up in your hot air balloon.

Please, oh please, make it soon

You can follow me to Paraguay

We can stay another day

Meet me in the air

The wind will blow your hair

We can fly away to St. Lucia

Girl you know I'm missin ya

Meet me in the air

Just so I can stare

Girl you make my heart go lame

Please let's put the world to shame

Meet me in the air

Because our love is rare

The Frog I Still Hold In My Hand

I hold you in my hands,

Though I'm desperate to let you go

I could just drop you

I could open my hands

Then you'd realize, you'd understand

I hold you in my hands,

As a way to protect my little frog

It keeps you from growing

It keeps you from pain

Is it wrong to protect you from the rain?

I hold you in my hands,

I just long to set you free

Though harm for you

Is harm for me

The holding you hurts now, can't you see!?!?!

I hold you in my hands

And it's ripping me apart

Though if I release you

You could die

And then I'm sure, so would I.

The Water Rolled to Meet Me Once

The water rolled to meet me once

Once, the water fell to reach me

Our hearts were a love affair once

Passion, fury you'll never see

Because the water swirled to me once

Once, we were consumed by lust

It would chill my heart, calm me once

Then it left me, broke our trust

Once, the water smashed against my skin

It washed away all my features

It revealed all I had, out and in

It covered me, it pushed me deeper

But the water doesn't want me now

The tears are all that fall

It exited, it's final bow

I yearn for it, I call

Because once the water left me here

I became barren and alone

Hope dried up, replaced by fear

My heart is now a stone

It's Brewing

A warm wind is brewing, The traveling force of green pastures, flowers, and the sweetly, over-powering smell of honeysuckle is rushing to meet us. A brighter sun is traveling. A cooler, refreshing rain will cover us, blanket the ground, but in pollen. Windows will open, sleeves will get shorter, and hopes will soar. The Earth will start to heal, to repair the anguish of a raging Winter. And, in turn, our hearts will heal. Our souls will start an eruption of creativity, the type of thinking and loving only done when Spring comes. It will sweep us away like the floods of a thousand rivers. We will live. Glimpses of hummingbirds will teach us the meaning of a companion. The rebirth of a lost vibrant color will teach us restoration. We will live, Spring will give us no option. the trees will grow, the sky will return turquoise. We will live and we will be happy. It's brewing.

Blooming and Yearning

Petals bloom, petals fall, and snow melts away. Leaves change, blow in burst of wind, all the while breaking apart to nothing. But as for me, I stand here through the temperature highs and bitter lows. I stand through the seasons, I watch the seasons. I stand, unchanged by them all. I am my own heart. I am dieing, I am beating, I'm hurting, I'm loving. I reveal myself through the paintings of life, the landscapes of the countryside, the skyline of the urban. I show up in the great works of others, in the face of a pretty girl. I am in the music that makes me sob, and the underlying beats that make me feel alive. I am my own heart, excluding my brain. I am my heart, and I am heavy. A burden...a gift of a life. There is no safety net, I free fall through my body. I am my own heart, and I ache for forgiveness. I am my own heart, and I need you.

"I see skies of blue

Clouds of white

Bright blessed days

Dark sacred nights

And I think to myself...what a wonderful world!"

A Rocky Future

Who am I?
Am I defined by the college I attend?
Or the money I have?
Or the superficial talents I have acquired?
Who am I?
Will I be seen at face value?
Does a high school diploma make me less of a person, than that of the collegiate?

What defines who I am?
Who defines who I am?

Will I still make a difference?

"I love you.." "Don't worry."....it's hard.

The Sunrise of my Life

Matthew 6

Just recently my finacial situation had me in fierce, angry tears. I was worrying about college, the rest of my high school career, and my freedom (which could have a farely hefty sum). But, at this very moment I am at peace. I'm at peace with everything, and it all has to do with Jesus. Our computer is in front of a window, and if you sit there at around 6:30 to around 7am there is the most BEAUTIFUL sunrise. God's creation at it's finest...a vast open air of colors and unlimited possibilites, because with this sunrise comes a new day. And, I know...for sure, that this sunrise is for me, because I know that a new day is meant for me.

In Mattew 6 God talks about fasting, the treasures in heaven, giving to the needy; but he also lays out something very special. To me, it sounds like a command, or some sort of law...he says. "don't worry". It sounds so incredibly easy...but how many people follow it. It's clear to me that people aren't praying, and why optimism is at an all time low....because, we aren't following his command. He said DON'T WORRY! He said it, he meant it.

Find the sunrise of your life, find your brand new day...and when you have it, don't destroy it by hanging on to depression and hoplessness.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will weat. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Soloman in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' of 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough touble of its own."

The Jungle

"The spiritual life cannot be made suburban. It is always frontier, and we who live in it must accept and even rejoice in that it remains untamed."-Howard Macey

I'm reading a book by John Eldredge, Wild at Heart, it's all about a man's untamed heart and soul. Your "spiritual adventure" has to be an adventure. The phrase "spiritual walk", must have been coined from old men, playing it safe, in life, and in spirit. If it's a walk, then you control more......but your "spiritual adventure" should always be left out of your hands. Your time with the lord should always be beautifully scary, not knowing what's next, or what's going to befall you. That's where the ever so strong words, faith and trust, come into play.

I, personally, picture a man running through the jungle, not having to look where he's going, trusting God. FALSE. Running aimlessly through the jungle of life is ridiculous and stupid! I am pretty sure there is a trap somewhere for people like this, one in the form of a hole in the ground. God will keep you well prepared, but it's work. At the beginning of the journey, he hands you a map, a machete, and canteen full of water. Then YOUR journey begins, your own....singly. It's sounds terrifying. But, I know from personal experience, that every time it gets too tough, every time the heat is overwhelming, the sweat's blinding your eyes, and you feel you just can't go on...he's there. Your father, is standing right there beside you, with his North Face backpack and sandals on....encouraging, begging you to move forward.

"He loves us, oh how, he loves us!!"

and I love him.

I'm making my trek through the jungle at this very moment....and it's very senic!

Life. The vast frontier. It's abstract, yet it's totally physical. Life is the only thing left to conquer. The only thing left to capture, and flag, is the hopelessly tall entity that is your future. But, how do we obtain it?

I have a friend, Sheri Elizabeth Eubanks, who has an utter hate for birds, every variety. My original assumption was that she thought they were diseased, disgusting. However, I soon found out that I had mistaken jealousy for disgust. They could fly. Sheri could not. Their ability to be lifted up and out of their situation, so very easily, angered her. Why did God give some animals this capability, but not Sheri Eubanks, not Micah Winter?
The answer is simple, life is a struggle. God, in his infinite wisdom, gave us larger brains, and emotions....or as I like to call it, a soul. He lets us feel the pain, he lets us feel the love, he lets us feel the compassion. And though I, very often, think to myself, "Please, please let it stop!" I know that I am meant to persevere, I am meant to become stronger on the other side.
Life's a beast that you must tackle, with tears and heartache. If only just to make it to the other side and continue up hill.

Birds may take off the ground at any given moment, leaving everything behind. Nothing then matters. I bet you are wondering how this could be encouraging. Well, have you ever seen a happy bird? Honestly, the people you usually compare birds to are rude, ugly, or both. Leaving your problems behind isn't a solution, and it won't make you happy. Happiness is the Lord's gift to us....but it can't be obtained with out hard work, and labor.

So, conquer your life, by perseverance. Endure through your pain, to become happy. Smile, and conquer your life.