Have you ever been told to get comfortable being uncomfortable? Doesn't sound right, does it? Yet, I'm sure we've all been in our fair amount of situations where up was down and down was up ... where we went in a situation feeling confident of what was to come and coming to find out it is nothing what you were expecting or could have imagined or even anticipated to be ... where one minute your feet are safe and sturdy on solid ground and the next it is as if the ground has been pulled up from under you and you either have fallen flat on your face or you find yourself on the ground looking up and undoubtedly asking .... What just happened? How did I get here? What do I do now because I didn't see that coming?
Been there and done that and pretty sure I still have more to come. An experience that stands out in my life was the time where I was transitioning from losing a job to losing my dad to gaining a husband who had conveniently been very comforting, supportive, accepting, and helpful to me during my time of bereavement all within a year. I was strangely calm and accepting of being let go from my job of 9 years. I was strangely calm and accepting of being thrust into an environment that I had painstakingly tried to run away from all of my life (going back home and being around family) and caring for my father in his last living months. I was strangely, even more calm on the day we buried my dad and afterwards hearing clearly that the man I was to marry was the man who I had just met 3 weeks prior to my dad's death and then to leave with him to Korea. However, after we were married that's when all hell broke loose and the confidence I had had in all the previous trials and tribulations seemed to not be with me in a time that I should have been the most peaceful, happy, and content. Crazy ... right?
Well, that's just one moment that stands out of many and rest assured God has answered and helped me with the blank stare I had upon my confused state of "where is my peace ... I'm married now ... so where is my peace". Praise the Lord! But this is a perfect example that explains the above scripture. A lot of my problem when I was first married was I had baggage from previous relationships including my parental relationship with my mother and father. We all have baggage that we know of and oftentimes are unaware of. Needless to say, the more I forget those things that are past from my life to the offenses that have been incurred against me today and press forward, I feel light, fresh, and peaceful.
I have digressed a little off of the path of my originally intended discussion but bear with me. What does forgetting the past and pressing toward the future have to do with getting comfortable with being uncomfortable? Good question. The past can hold us back from our future if we are stuck in it or carrying it with us. The reason I had peace prior to getting married was because I had a very strong connection to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I was in unity with them and leaned not to my own understanding but in all my ways acknowledged and trusted in Him. So when the unforeseen came upon me and rocked my world I was not afraid or dismayed because I trusted in the author and finisher of my faith. And because I was in unity with Him, I was also able to hear His forewarning of things to come so I was somewhat prepared.
Let me go a little more in depth ... Take 1 Kings 17:1-15, Elijah, God's prophet, was forewarned that a drought was coming, then God told him to go to a brook where he would stay and be fed by ravens. Because of the drought, the brook dried up and God then told him to go to a widow who would feed him. The widow only had enough food for her and her son and she trusted God and gave food to His prophet and she and her son had enough food to eat for 3 years. In these few scriptures, Elijah did not know his future, he had to trust and depend on God. He also had to take heed to the warning that no more rain was coming so he had to know that the brook he was used to would dry up after while. He then had to go to a widow whom he did not know and trust that she would give him food. And if that's not enough, the widow had to take a detour and change the direction of her original plan to make a last meal for herself and her son and die.
Without delaying any further ... don't allow complacency to keep you from your full potential, your true destiny to be more than what and who you are right now. We should always be growing, changing, and challenging ourselves to reach and realize our total greatness. And don't worry about comparing yourself to no one else but yourself. We are our own greatest enemy. Don't look to your left and don't look to your right, but run your own race and most importantly DON'T EVER GIVE UP! But know that sometimes ... we are going to have to do things we've never done to get to places or to receive blessings we've never been to or ever had before. Don't be afraid to leave your past behind, forgive past regrets, hurts, and offenses. Dare to not look back but look forward to the unknown and give it all you have. Get comfortable being uncomfortable and live your best life.
Time is what you make of it ... you can either waste it or make the most of it. You're on the clock ....
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