In the game you strategically ‘make moves’ to take over countries, trying to conquer the entire world. Succeeding in the game is greatly dependent on experience, skill, strategy, risk, patience, determination, and motivation. But a huge factor that success in the game of Risk is based on is a factor made of circumstances beyond your control: the roll of the dice. If the roll works in your favor, your best laid plans can advance. If the roll doesn’t work in your favor, you have to wait for another break, or possibly lose the entire game.

Risk is a lot like life. Succeeding in life, too, relies on experience, skill, strategy, risk, patience, determination, and motivation. But all of our best laid out plans can be made or broken with the onset of unforeseen and uncontrollable circumstances.

But no matter what the outcome of things you have no control over (other people’s decisions, government policy, economic climate, natural phenomena, accidents, predisposed illness, etc…), true success in life comes when you strive towards your goals anyways. True success is accepting the roll of the dice that comes your way, keeping a positive attitude, continuing to chase your dreams and calling, and trusting in God to control the outcome of every circumstance for His glory, the advancement of His Kingdom, and with your best interest in mind.

This makes getting to places we hope to be at very trying and difficult- sometimes torturous. But, once there, the destination makes the trip worthwhile.

I realized that our driving experiences with Kylie (our two year-old) are a lot like life. There are many places in life that each of us are striving to get to- goals if you will. But often times the trip to our goals can be horrific. If our goals our audacious and God-sized, though, the trip will have been more than worth it because the destination will bring so much joy and fulfillment.

So even though times may be tough and the effort put forth to achieve your goals may be great, keep striving to achieve what you do not already have. The outcome will be well worth your discomfort.

Jack was special. It was Jack’s job to watch over and care for the most magnificent plant in the entire garden. His plant was an enormous flower that could be seen from miles away. Most people say that the flower didn’t even exist until Jack was born- like it was made for him. The flower was made up of a rainbow of bold and brilliant colors. It had the most beautiful aroma anyone had ever smelled. The flower’s roots were so deep that it drank from an abundant supply of water from an underground stream-Jack didn’t even have to water it. It was placed in the garden in such a position that it received the perfect amount of sunlight and the perfect amount of shade, and even stayed in full bloom all year long. The flower was so magnificent that it even glowed in the dark on nights when the moon was out in its splendor.

Everyone in the garden would have done just about anything to tend to this flower. Even though they loved their plants, they would be lying if they said they never secretly dreamed about just watching Jack’s flower for hours. All Jack needed in life to be abundantly happy was to just sit and be with the flower and enjoy its multifaceted beauty. And all the flower needed from Jack was for him to take pleasure in being with her.

The flower burst forth offspring in the fertile ground around Jack’s corner of the garden. The amount of beauty and perfection that had been planted all around him was unfathomable. Jack’s life was basically perfect. He had been given a family- the most beautiful family he could have ever imagined. Life should have been good- very good.

But Jack had something in his heart that told him that he deserved better; that he needed more than just the most beautiful flower on earth and her offspring. He loved the flower and had no desire to tend to any other plants, but he began to spend less and time with his flower family in pursuit of something more fulfilling than what he had been given.

He poured his energy into tending fertile soil that had not yet been seeded. He worked vigorously rerouting streams and rivers to portions of the garden that had no need for irrigation. He began to write books about how to tend a flower. He scheduled as many meetings as he could with other gardeners to tell them about how good he was at tending flowers and how hard of a worker he was. He even ran for the position of head gardener and won.

Yes! Jack was busy! Jack was feeling quite good about himself. After all, he had won the respect of everyone in the garden- all because of his hard work- or so he thought. You see, people looked up to Jack, not because he was a hard worker or a phenomenal gardner, but because he had the most beautiful flower in the garden. And the more and more busy Jack become, the more and more recognition he gained, and the more and more his ego grew; the more and more his flower began to wither and die along with all of her offspring.

Jack saw the poor condition of his flower and her offspring. Day after day he looked at it as he left his portion of the garden for his busy work. But Jack didn’t have time to tend to them! He was a busy man and people needed him! His flower and her offspring would be fine- after all, they had Jack as their gardner.

One day, a trusted friend of Jack was walking by his portion of the garden when he noticed that Jack’s flower wasn’t so beautiful anymore. She was nearly withered to the point of death. Her offspring were suffering as well; their once vibrant petals littering the now dry soil at the base of their stems. Jack’s friend ran to warn him, but Jack didn’t care- he shrugged it off and blamed their condition on his flower’s unstable emotions.

Jack’s friend began to tell others about his flower, and Jack began to lose all the respect that he once had. Jack started to realize that his notoriety was based, not on his hard work, but on his beautiful flower. When Jack realized that, and how he had horribly neglected them, he ran back to his portion of the garden to take pleasure in his beautiful flower and her offspring in order to rejuvenate their health, restore their symbiotic relationship, and bring back his respect amongst the other gardeners.

But when Jack arrived, it was too late. His beautiful magical flower lay limp on the ground, and her offspring all bowed down dead on the ground facing towards their mother. Jack wept aloud and wished that he only would have seen how perfect his life was! If only he has paid attention to the one thing that was supposed to be the object of his affection. If only he wouldn’t have tried to pursue so many other things that he now finds meaningless…if only.

There’s then a sudden realization that what enters your mouth and goes down to your stomach doesn’t have to be liquid.

The milestones continue at an alarming rate: your first word, crawling, the formation of your first sentence, walking, going potty, dressing yourself and spelling your name, and learning to ride a bike…it’s really quite impressive!

The next big mark is crossed with a backpack, a classroom and a back turned to your parents faces as you leave their prescence for hours at a time–every day.

Then comes a kiss, a little trouble, maybe a part time job, and the keys to a car. Things really feel new now.

Up to this point you’ve learned so much! You’re right on the edge of the nest, thinking about jumping. You have your feathers now, your wings are spread, the sky calling. With a cap and a gown, you walk across a stage and grab a rolled up piece of paper. Hundreds of others do the same. The sheer amount of potential bottled up in the room is incredible.

But sadly, many of those crossing this milestone will never do anything amazing, never leave town, and never change the world.

A wise man once said,” The most potential in the world is in the grave.” Because so many of us never act on our dreams, never take bold risks, and never shoot for the stars; our potential is never fully realized and it goes with us to the grave.

So jump from the nest, dream big, chase the wind, and never settle for okay. Realize your potential, change the world, and cross as many milestones as you can.

Several hours into it some small children playing ball ran in circles all around him- having so much fun that they didn’t even notice that he was there. As one passed the ball to another, the ball hit the man in the head, almost knocking him over. The man was furious and scolded the children for not paying attention to him. They ran away terrified.

A few hours later, a time of day when the park was rather empty, an elderly man who was walking nearby tripped and fell and could not get back up. The man standing on one leg yelled over to him that someone should be along soon who could help and shifted his focus back to his balance.

A whole day passed, many distractions came and went, but the man stood firm. He was approaching his 40th hour when a blind woman with a white cane entered the park. She felt along the sidewalk with her cane swaying back and forth along the ground. The man grumbled as she approached. As she got closer, the man yelled,” Watch out lady, there’s someone in front of you!” The woman, startled, swung her body around to try to deduct with her ears where the yell came from. As she did her cane swung quickly toward the man; hitting him right on the shin of his planted leg. The cane packed just enough force to knock the man to the ground because his one leg was so weak.

As he lay on his back looking up at the frightened blind woman he cursed at her and mourned the fact that he had came so close to his dreams only to see them shattered towards the finish line.

The woman reached down and grabbed the man by his hand, almost as if she could see exactly where it was, and pulled him up from the ground with amazing strength. The man looked up, perplexed, and as he looked at the blind woman, all he could see was what appeared to be the face of Jesus.

He looked around him while being lifted up. It was as if time nearly slowed to a stop. He became accutely aware of a robin feeding her young a freshly caught worm.

His eyes were drawn to a mother reading to her son on a park bench accross the lawn.

His attention shifted to a young man pushing his quadriplegic friend down the path by the pond; both with smiles on their faces as they strolled along.

The sound of a honey bee caught his attention. He watched it dilligently carrying a large load of pollen from one flower to the next. He saw rays of sunshine gently beat down upon the fragile flower the bee had flown from. It was as if the flower opened up its petals and recieved them with joy and thanksgiving.

While taking in the enchantment of the world all around, time shifted to its normal speed and he heard a loud booming voice say to him,” THIS is not about YOU.” The warm embrace from the hand of the blind woman disintegrated into thin air. As he looked around, she was nowhere to be found.

A tear ran down the man’s face as he began to see the purpose of this life unfold around him. It wasn’t about his selfish personal endeavors; it was about others. He felt the satisfaction of the robin, the mother, the young man, the bee, and the sun, swell up within his heart; not because they had accomplished something for themselves, but because they had accomplished something for someone else. “That”, the man said,” is true satisfaction and joy.”

He stretched his legs, looked around, and sprinted out of the park to spend the rest of his day with his father who lay fragiley close to death in the bed of a nursing home.

It’s weird to think that my pretty 16 year-old little girlfriend is now my beautiful 31 year-old woman/wife who I’ve been married to for 10 years and have two kids with.

I wouldn’t have it any other way! And I’m hoping for at least another 31 years x 2!

I love you Susan! Happy Birthday!

Having both of my children, Zion and Kylie Trask

Being involved in ministry and obeying God’s leading in my life to do so.

1. Epic

2. Romantic

3. Sexy

4. Redemtive

5. Crushing

Bella:

1. Life

2. Forgiven

3. Mistakes

4. Unconditional

5. Love

Susan has given me a glimpse of how Christ loves the Church. She is constantly pushing me to be the man, the husband, and the father God has called me to be. She encourages me and gives me the strength I need to pursue the ministries that God has prepared for me. She has made me stronger and more patient. I believe that God used Susan to draw me into a closer relationship with Him and to call me into ministry. God spoke to her before He ever spoke to me, that He would be calling me into ministry. I have heard it said that a wife is not to make you happy, but to make you holy. I can easily say that Susan is making me happy, and is pushing me to be a holier person who is sold-out for Christ.

My children Zion and Kylie Trask-

My children continually show me what it means to love unconditionally. They continue to remind me that I live for others, not myself. And most importantly, they have shown me how much God loves His children and how hard it was for Him to give His Son Jesus Christ for the sins of the world.

My brother-in-law Mike Yoder-

Mike Yoder has been an extraordinary mentor to me for the last 15 years. He listens to me, cares for me, and holds me accountable to do the things that God requires. He is the hands-down the best father example I know and the best husband example that I know. I strive to be half the dad that he is to his children and half the husband that he is to his wife.

My father Ralph Trask-

My dad has always shown me that committing your life to Jesus is the most important thing that you can do with your life, and that serving the oppressed is something worth giving your life to.