The Power of a Positive Word

Topic: Perspective

I have had an enjoyable experience writing here on SubStack, which incredibly enough, doesn’t engage in coerced censorship in an age of political intimidation and suppression of speech.  While I’ve learned to use each individual social media platform in a different way, SubStack is the best venue for long-form work and the maintenance of what amounts to a digital library for my research.  It has also allowed for users to support my work with paid memberships at nominal cost, and even then, I don’t limit motivational or “must have” data to only paying subscribers.

The dashboard continues to evolve, and now I can see that I have subscribers in all 50 states and in 97 countries around the world.  It is humbling to see, and requires daily effort to interface with everyone and carry the burden to ensure pride doesn’t set in.  The political establishment and its media allies put in overtime work to ensure people stay as demoralized as possible, which is why I no longer look for my name online or read the slop that is produced.

When things are gloomy, and when defeatism takes root in the freedom movement, it is easy to get down and struggle to remain enthusiastic and driven.  Sometimes I pull out my Dad’s letters and read them, and find hope in them.  On other occasions, I remind myself that God didn’t put me here to be average, collect retirement savings, and then roll over into a grave. 

Yesterday, I found a new feature on SubStack’s dashboard that moved me greatly.  It is called “paid subscriber notes.”  Here are some of the comments that really hit me in the “feels.”

What can I say?  When the time comes, I will share many personal reflections of challenges, or mountains, that have impacted my trajectory in this stand made by millions for the future of the free world.  Down some paths, I have found pain or alienation from those I once knew and a life I once had, and in other paths, I’ve found lifelong brothers, sisters, and friends.  I’ve tight roped in and out of many ugly situations between feuding factions and have even found healing in my soul for many wounds I sustained at a young age, when few believed in me or my ability to apply a laser focus with unparalleled resilience.

This is not a curtain call.  This is a post to express my gratitude for those of you who came by with something positive to say, not knowing if it would be seen, or if it would need to be seen at the exact moment I saw it. After all, Proverbs 17:22 reminds us, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones” (NASB).

There are so many positive words shared, I can’t capture them all for this post, but they’ve all been seen, and they are all appreciated more than can be described in this space.  I am resolute in my support for veterans and encourage all reading this open post to apply your natural talents and skills into these things that animate your spirit.  For those of you who have supported me prayerfully, verbally, and through your financial support of this journal, I am truly grateful.

These positive words remind me that God will find a way where we don’t see one, and takes the failures of yesterday and transforms them into the successes of today if we are open to his guidance.