The Battle is Won in the Gap

by Bob Perks

This message is a story of a different kind. It is a story of strangers meeting collectively on the internet. Some are in search of answers. Some are in search of themselves. Still others look only for interesting reading to fill their need to learn and grow.

But I believe I can say we are all in search of something. I hope you find something of value here in the words I share from my soul three times each week.

I receive a great deal of email expressing gratitude for awakening someone to life's intricate details. Some tell me that God is speaking through me and changing countless lives daily.

Reading such praise humbles me to the point of embarrassment most times. What I do is a gift from God. How I use it is m y gift back to Him. You are all part of the connection between Him and me. So I am forever grateful that you are there.

But remember, you have gifts to use, too. Are you using them?

This story is my response to anyone who has been so kind as to write to share their good feelings about what I do. It comes about because of recent messages from you , my friends, and a documentary on the Civil War I saw recently. My reply:

My friend,

Thanks for your confidence in my words. I believe they come to you through a Higher source. They are magical in a sense, certainly not because they are mine, but because one person reads them and sees nothing. Another sees them as inspiring, entertaining, perhaps fulfilling. Still another sees them as a sign from God.

This brings up the question... what is reality? I long ago accepted this thought, that your perception is your reality. There are three parts to reality: It's the way you see it, the way I see it and the way it is.

Words are just words but serve many different purposes. Just like a flower, a sunset, a perfume scent.

One sees the flower as background patterns of life. Another sees life itself. One sees the sunset as a work of God's hand. Another sees it just as a reminder the day is over, go to bed. The perfume to one man may be an irritation to the senses and still another a reminder of his long lost love.

This brings up the question "what is it that you are "not" seeing in your life?"

When people write to me privately and tell me that they have tried to find happiness in life but have failed, I always ask them one question..."What is it that you are not willing to do?"

The answer to why you are not happy lies within the answer to that question. For the only thing that blocks you from being truly happy is what you are not willing to do to be happy.

The thing you are seeking lies in "the gap." No, not the store but the pause, the space where you see opportunity but do nothing about it.

There lies the victory.

In Pennsylvania we have a TV channel called PCN. Much like C-Span, it provides local connections to government issues, companies and people of our state. Recently I watched a few minutes of a program featuring one of the guides for our Gettysburg National Park. He was on site telling the story of one of the battles during the Civil War. Without going into details here, I'll tell you that one of the instances that turned a battle into a victory was when an officer saw an opportunity and took it. He lead his men, against orders, into a gap that was created in the line of battle. It sent the second wave of attackers, the backup and support, running in all directions.

Hearing this story made me think about how many gaps there are in my own life, where, if I took positive action, I could move ahead, become closer to my goal.

Those of us who do not see life in the flower, the beauty of the sunset, the memory of the scent, the message in the collection of words meant just for you, miss the opportunity in the gap.

These things of life all serve a purpose. Each of you give back to me more than I could possibly give. Believe this or not.

Last night I reviewed my list of now over 2500 email addresses. You all know the familiar little hand that appears on your computer screen over links as you pass over them with the curser. Starting with the first email address on my list I touched every one until I reached the last. As I did I prayed to God and asked that He make me worthy of your being there.

I also prayed that each of you see "The Gap" sometime this weekend and in seeing it, your hopes, dreams and goals advance forward.

Don't live in the gap. Become alive there. For life is in the details.

Be aware this weekend and watch for it. For I believe in the power of prayer. I once met a Nun who was carrying an umbrella on a hot sunny day during a long drought in our area. I asked her why she was carrying the umbrella. She replied, "Well last night I prayed for rain. I want to be prepared."

She saw the gap and took advantage of it.

The battle is won in the gap. It rained.

"I believe in You!"
Bob Perks

"The Battle is won in the gap" Copyright 2001 Bob Perks
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