The Motivating Chasm

A friend recently sent me a blog post that spoke straight to my soul...

Here are some of the excerpts...
"Moving on isn’t always about speeding enthusiastically forward so much as it’s about having one foot on the gas and the other on the brakes – releasing and accelerating in turn. You’re not a failure for getting to someplace amazing and still feeling like a part of yourself is missing once you get there. You’re not pathetic for mourning while you grow. The bad things don’t disappear in the blink of an eye and the good things don’t spring up into existence without reigning at least a tiny bit of collateral damage. It takes time for everything to even out. And it should.

We have to be patient with ourselves as we move through the parts in between the where we’ve been and where we’re going. We have to let the chasm motivate rather than dishearten us. It’s okay to not be there yet. It’s okay to be unsure of every step that you take forward. We don’t talk about how moving on sometimes feels like we’re fighting every part of our most basic instincts, but we should. We should talk about how growth is often every bit as painful as it is beautiful.

Because growth and letting go are so complexly intertwined that we often only see one or the other. We forget that they can exist side by side – releasing the old while letting in the new. We forget that we have the ability to do the exact same thing. And that if we’d only stop beating ourselves up over it, we might realize just how far we’ve already come."

Wow, I read that, and just sighed relief. It's always comforting when you read something that puts your own thoughts into words or your own emotions into concrete ideas. We all struggle with something. We all have our battles. Some are big, some are small. Some we defeat in a moment, and some we battle our entire lives, never to overcome. Maybe the goal is not always to focus on the finish line, maybe the Lord is testing our faith to see how we handle the race and journey in between. I can attest to this intertwining that the blog mentions. Some days I feel like I am on top of the world, I see my progress, I feel strong, bold, like I'm going to make it through this. Other days, I feel like I've taken 10 steps back, like I'm at ground zero, and get lost in the feeling of defeat.

But I love how that blog post called us to handle the complexly intertwining of our growth and letting go. Be patient. Show yourself some grace. Forgive yourself. Know that the Lord, Creator of the Universe, loves you unconditionally, and knows your struggle inside and out. He is with you through it all, and He is patient with you as you fight the battle. But the key is to remember you are not fighting it alone. God will help you fight it. You will see glimpses of His presence and help in little moments or big ways. He will send people into your life to speak encouragement to you at just the right time. He will show you favor at times when you feel like the whole world is against you. He will soften your aching heart with his comfort through a beautiful song, a warm summer day, or a friend's hug. That chasm between where you think you should be and where you are holds both beauty and disaster all in one, but it motivates us to keep pressing on into each day.

I Need Thee Every Hour

Just discovered this beautiful harmonious song on GodTube.com a week or so ago. It is absolutely breath-taking. When I can't describe life's circumstances through words, I just let worship music speak for me. I am not meant to do life on my own strength. I need the Lord every single hour and moment of everyday. I need His strength, I need His grace and mercy, I need His forgiveness, I need His unconditional love. Through the struggles, He will not leave me and not forsake me. I feel His peace deep down inside of me even when the storm rages around me. I need thee, Lord, I need thee....

Look Through Each Other's Eyes....At Least For An Instant

The message in this video is so compelling. I have watched it numerous times this week. You never know what people are going through...what struggles they are enduring, what burdens they are carrying, what flaws they have, what mistakes they have made, what sins they are still making. As the video says,

"If you could stand in someone else's shoes,
          hear what they hear,
                    see what they see,
                              feel what they feel,
                                        would you treat them differently?"

I think we all would.

"Love Can Bring You Home."

I am reading a book recommended to me called Made for Goodness And Why This Makes All the Difference by Christian Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Mpho Tutu. Each chapter ends with a beautiful poem written in the voice and perspective of God speaking to us. Here is the poem I read today:

"Why are you running, running, running?

Why are you hiding away?

You may think that what you have done is beyond my power to forgive.

You may think what you have said makes me shrug and turn away.

You may think that you are lost.

But you are not lost to me.

How could you ever be?

Where are you that I cannot go?

Where have you been that I have not been?

What did you see that I have not seen?

What did you do?

No, it cannot be undone,

The pain cannot be unmade,

The life cannot be un-lived,

The time will not run backward,

You cannot un-choose your choice.

But the pain can be healed,

Your choices can be redeemed,

Your life can be blessed,

And love can bring you home."

Forgiveness at the Gas Pump

I pull up to the gas station this evening and start pumping gas. I look to the next pump over and my heart skips a beat. The guy I see there looks just like a guy I use to work with a few years ago. This is not just any guy, but a guy who verbally abused me and harassed me day in and day out at my job. I remember going home crying from work because of this guy. He was cruel, rude, unprofessional, and verbally abusive. I remember trying everything in my might to shower this guy with kindness to try and win him over so our work environment could be more peaceful. Nothing worked. Eventually, I left the job almost solely because of this abusive workplace environment. Back at the gas station, my heart skipped a beat thinking it was him. I looked away quickly and focused on the pump, having flash backs to interactions with him, thinking about what I should say to him in case he noticed me. The words coming to my mind were not nice, forgiving, or Christ-like. I built up enough guts to directly glance back at him to confirm if it was him or not.

Acceptance vs. Accountability

Do you accept others for who they are? Do you accept them for all their flaws, weaknesses, and sins? We are called to accept and love all, just as Jesus did. We are called to forgive others just as Jesus forgave us. But why is that such a difficult task sometimes? Why do we struggle to accept and forgive others? We are all sinners and we are all human, so their sins and flaws are no worse than our own. So, isn't it hypocritical to call out others on their sins when you have your own sins?