Ah ha Moments!

What is an “Ah Ha Moment?” Well, it’s just another saying for an epiphany. What is an epiphany? It is a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.  It is an intuitive grasp of reality through something such as an event. Something that is simple, but yet striking.  It’s also a realization or a revealing scene or moment in time.  Now you know what an “Ah Ha Moment” is. Glad I could help.

Since being in my 40’s I’ve come across many “Ah Ha Moments.”  They don’t always  occur in an instant, but when they occur and finally get my attention, I can’t help but laugh because I finally GET IT.  Ah ha!

This past weekend I came across a few “Ah Ha Moments” that helped me to see the light on a few things in my life.

Ah Ha Moment #1

I was working out on the elliptical machine listening to some music. Anyone who knows me knows that I love music and I listen to all kinds.  My play list consists of jazz, R & B, Rap, Gospel and soft rock. As I was working out those glutes, one of my favorite songs on my play list came on., “Yes you Can” by Marvin Sapp.  In summary, the song talks about believing that you can (no matter what ) because God says, “Yes you can!.”  As I’m getting my work out on, the song reaches a crescendo, where the drums come in hard and the background singers are singing their heart out and Marvin’s voice is real strong to the point of almost yelling…where he sings, “He said, I can, I know, that I will triumph over the enemy.” In that moment, something came over me and I just started crying and lifting my hand up and shaking my head as though I was sitting on the front pew waving my fan at church.  The feeling was overwhelming.   It was like the Spirit just took over my body. In that moment, I had no idea why I was crying.  I mean I didn’t have anything that I was really going through that I would be crying about.  It was weird, but yet refreshing. This moment lasted for only a few minutes. When I was finished crying, I felt a warm sensation take over my body and I felt somehow…cleansed and renewed.  I wiped my tears and finished my workout and headed back home.

The “Ah Ha Moment” for me was that I realized that God finds various ways to tap us on the shoulder to remind us that he’s there. And even though, I didn’t feel like I was going through something, I realized or rather was reminded that we don’t just call on God when we are going through something.  God is there even when we aren’t going through something.  For whatever reason, God wanted to remind me that he’s there for me and in that moment, he just wanted to stop by to let me know that. Part of God stopping by was to give me a spiritual cleansing by way of letting me release and cry.  You know, crying is good for the soul. Sometimes you just need a good cry to clean your spirit out. I believe that is what God did in that moment.  My day was so much brighter after I left the gym. It reminded me of how much God loves me and not to take that for granted.

Ah Ha Moment #2

I am far from being a millionaire. However, if I made some better financial decisions who knows where I would be at this point in my life.  Are you saying the same thing to yourself?  You probably are.  Have you heard of a man named Dave Ramsey? Well, if you haven’t click here.  He’s a financial guru and was once a millionaire to being broke, to being a millionaire again. My church is partnering up with him to launch “Are you Ready to Shred?” program to help all us get rid of debt so that we aren’t living pay check to pay check.  Mr. Ramsey spoke at our church on Saturday and Sunday. He dropped some nuggets on us that made me say, “Ah ha! “ and perhaps I’ve heard some of these tidbits before, but I don’t think that I was really listening.  But let me tell you, I’m listening now for sure.  Here are five points that he told us:

1. Get on a budget
2. Get out of debt
3. Foster high quality relationships
4. Save $$
5. Be outrageously generous

 

Now, point #1 shouldn’t be a surprise. That’s finance 101, get on a budget.  That really didn’t spark anything inside me because I already do that. Point #2 is also a no brainer.  I mean who wants to be in debt? Not me.

Now, #3…well that did give me an “Ah Ha Moment.”  Mr. Ramsey said that it is important to foster high quality relationships. This reminds me of what I said a few videos back on social media where I talked about having people in your life who will ignite your fire, not put it out.  This is very similar to what Mr. Ramsey was talking about.  He mentioned that he had a group of male friends who he calls “Eagles”. These men along the way have helped to change his life. He credits some of his success to his relationships with these Eagles.   The Eagles exposed him to various things from books, to words of wisdom, experiences etc.. to help get him to where he is today. They also are of like minds with similar goals and dreams.  He told us that we needed to get us some Eagles.  Do you have some Eagles in your life? I definitely, do. However, I have realized that over the years I have some folks in my life who are not real “Eagle like” but I will not end my friendship with them, I just learned to put them in different categories.  Hey, everyone is not meant to go where you are destined to go.  Real talk!

Point #4 – Save your $$. Sometimes this is easier said than done. This actually isn’t really an “Ah ha for me either. However, one of my friends hipped me to a cool app to assist me with saving money automatically without knowing that I’m actually saving.  So, for me, this app was an “Ah ha! ” What is the app called? Come closer…. It’s called Digit.  Digit is the best thing ever.  It monitors your daily spending and if finds ways for you to save money.  Digit pulls the money from your account to your special Digit account.  I’m telling you, you won’t even miss the money that leaves your account.  Digit also give you a daily update on how much you saved.  You can use Digit for a rainy-day fund or for when you are saving up for something special. Check it out. It works.

Point #5 Be outrageously generous.  This was an “Ah ha” for me because I’m always trying to find various ways to do nice things for other people. According to Ramsey, when you pay off your debt you will then have extra money where you can be a blessing to others.  I am from the mindset that if I have it and I can bless someone, I will. It’s such a great feeling to surprise someone with an unexpected cash blessing.  One example that Ramsey gave was that on Thanksgiving as he was headed to grandmother’s house, he decided to stop by a local Waffle House.  His kids wanted to know what he was doing, and he told his children to just wait and see.  He left his children in the car in the parking lot and went inside Waffle House and put down three 100 dollar bills on the table as a tip for the waitress.  The waitress did not see him. Ramsey got back into the car and he and his children sat in the car and watched the reaction of the waitress once she noticed the $300.00 on the table.  She was stunned and she kept looking around to see who could have left her the big tip. She grabbed the money put it towards her heart and looked up, as though she was thanking God for this unexpected blessing.  I loved that story.

See those are things that you can do for others when they least expected.  God blesses us, so we need to be blessings to others. Sure paying for someone’s coffee in the Starbucks line is indeed a nice gesture for sure…but think about if you said,” I’m paying for the next 50 cars that come through, whatever they want, it’s on me.” Now, that is outrageous!  That’s where I’m trying to be with mine.  So, this was an “Ah ha moment” indeed for me.

I’m sure I can tell you many other “Ah ha moments” but then I may be here all day. What are some of your “Ah ha moments” that have happened to you in your 40’s?