Does love really conquer all?

Does it conquer the pain of a broken heart
Does it conquer the hurts of abandonment
Does it conquer the feelings of depression, inadequacy and doubt that lies within
Does it conquer the evil thoughts that haunt us at night and our daydreams during day?

Is love really unconditional?

Is it able to see past all the lies and deceit
Is it able to truly be unrestricted, absolute,  and unreserved
Is it able to be limitless, infinite, and all places at all times?

Is love able to be the force that allows for one to love the unlovable
To hold the unholdable
 to become what once never was?

If love is able to take a broken down, scarred, shattered and fractured spirit and allow for it to know something more than its brokenness 
then it is worth the hype

If love has the ability to become the unimaginable, unthinkable, greatness that radiates within to the outside 
that its so contagious all are able to catch it from the littlest of us, 
then it is more powerful than any weapon known to man

If love never fails, 
then we are all champions 
and 
that in itself is worth exploring for a lifetime!

(Let the above song play if you'd like while you read the following post)

Invictus- Latin for invincible or unconquered

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Invictus, William Ernest Henley

The first time I heard Invictus, I thought William was a black man. When I first read Invictus I was definitely convinced he was a black man; for whom else could talk of the night that covers as black as the pit from pole to pole? Who else knew of holding their head high in face of circumstances? Who else but a black man could look beyond a place of doom and horror and who else but a black man could stand proud and still say after all that, that I am the captain and master!?!

Well, we all know that William Henley is not a black man, but a white one, an Englishman to be exact. But William, having suffered with pain early on in life understood what it meant to be in the pit. But more than the pit, William understood that victory must always come from within. 

For the longest, I loved and hated this poem all at the same time. While the literary genius of the poem captivated my soul, the last two lines left me conflicted. Was not God the master of fate and captain of my soul? Who then am I to take that authority and power from Him and make it my own? 

But I am the master and captain I came to accept. Yes, God is the author and finisher of my faith... and in being the Creator, he gave me what was His. In making me, he gave me the same power and authority that he has. So while he is in control, so am I. 

As long as I stay in God’s will then my will be his will and thus I can take ownership of the decisions I make.

I am king! 
If I don’t take control of my life, then who will? Even when God is in control, I must push the pedal, step on the gas, and steer the car. God is just the ignition. If not, if I entrust the most precious thing I have, my fate and soul into the hands of someone else then I am no longer king. 

To be king is to be more than in control. To be king is to be responsible and dedicated. Hardworking and willing to change. Able to see the greatness within while recognizing the areas of life that need attention; the lowliness within. To be king is to ruler, dictator and sovereign. But to be king is also to be accountable, liable, and chargeable. to be king is to be royalty but to royalty is to be set apart and being set apart may at times mean being alone, lonely, forsaken, left alone, deserted, desolate, and destitute.

See to be king is the greatest and most horrible thing to be all at the same time. 

Are you ready to be king in your life?