Tuesday, July 27

A Good Investment

















A very wise person once sat down to teach me about making an investment. I wanted to know more about the stock market. I wanted to know what kind of strategies I should use.

This very wise person explained to me that the first thing to remember was not to make decisions based on fear.

The second thing was to look at the history and track the behavior to get a good idea of how a stock would play out in the long run.

I also learned that there are unpredictable variables; there always will be no matter what. This was nothing to be worried about...just known.

Last but not least, I remember this person telling me that if you had made a good investment, no matter what ups and downs there were along the way, you would inevitably see a rise in the overall value of the initial investment. Therefore, it was important not to give up so soon based on the downfalls here and there.

I still have not made any monetary investments in the stock market.

But when I saw a similar graph one day at a school staff meeting...I felt like I had inside information. The information was saying that we weren't doing enough as teachers to raise the data. And I thought in the back of my head...but this is only based on two years, this is based only on limited information, this doesn't take into account the uncontrollable variables. It didn't see the day in and day out successes. It didn't see the individual student progress. By the end of our discussion, I felt smarter than the data that day....less defeated as a teacher who is doing the best she can to keep those students up to date.

And last night I began to think about relationships...friendships...family and all of the ups and downs that accompany knowing someone and being known. There are good days. Very good days. There are bad days. Sometimes downright awful days. If you were to look at one downfall, it would seem that the investment in that relationship was no good at all. If you were to look at one good day you might think that it would always be good and nothing bad could ever happen. The truth is...there is an ebb and flow. The truth is...there are unpredictable days. You cannot assume anything about anyone. It is better to ask...better to watch over time. A person will prove who they are...who they can become. Especially when their hearts are committed to the Lord. You cannot react to your investment with fear...otherwise you may never see it's full value. You may never see the upward rise of the line. You may look back and wished that you had trusted your instincts to hold on a little bit longer. You may look back and wish you had never invested at all. Either way...you take a risk. You must make the choice to stick by your guns...stick by the investments you chose to make.

Because, even while we were still far away...Christ laid down His life for us. And He knew we had the option of walking away. He knew we had the option of turning away. But He believed in the investment He made. Look where it got Him...true love from those who saw the sacrifice that He made.

I want to be a good investor for my whole life. I want to love the way He loved me. Thank you wise friend, for the lesson you taught to me...I am learning it well.

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