Posts Tagged: stirring

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21
Jun 10

Deep Calls to Deep

I started this entry early this morning in St Louis.  I am in Indianapolis and just now finishing.  Weird day. 

Monday Morning:

I’m feeling very introspective this morning.  There are all sorts of stuff tumbling around and I sit here trying to logically sort out the moving thoughts and emotions. 

There’s a lot of movement… not erratic or helter skelter… deep currents in motion.  The types of things that slowly emerge into momentary recognition and then silently sink back. 

These are not troubling stirrings but substantive truths trying to make their way to consciousness.  I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that there is a difference between being troubled and being stirred.

Side Note:  Every time I use the word stirred it think of Bond, James Bond… “I’ll have mine stirred not shaken.” 

Yes, I know… I’m weird.

 

When I am troubled I know that something is going on that needs attention and decisive action is the cure.  But when something is stirring the opposite is true.  For me, when something is stirring I need to just be open, reflect (not try to figure it out), give it some time to allow it to surface.

Also, I recognize that the stirrings I am currently having today are deep Spiritual things… God stuff… not normal personal stuff.  There are stirrings that are important personal things that tumble around inside. These take shape with time, thought, reflection and logic.  But this is not true with Spiritual things.

You cannot logic out Spiritual things. Spiritual things are reveled.

 

I don’t know about you but God stirrings cause my ears to perk up and my head to tilt.  I know that there is something for me to pay attention about.

Oswald Chambers said that earthly things are thought out by logic and insight but with Spiritual things you must obey your way out.  Humm,  Very interesting thought.

Side Note:  If you have never heard of or read Oswald Chambers you have missed a treat.  He was a Scottish minister from around 1900.  He thinks on a different spiritual level.  My wife and her friend talk about Ozzie. 

What kind of stirring has been going on with you?  Is it a God stirring or just deep thought? 

I know that I have been writing a lot on stirring lately.  I have been a bit concerned but I write what I believe I am to write.  Either there is something God is trying to get at in me or in you.

Thanks for hanging out with me.

See you Thursday.

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17
Jun 10

Too Far To Turn Back

Howdy.  It’s me again… I survived full disclosure from the last blog. 

The only thing that I am concerned about is if any friends of mine who read the blog wondered if I thought they were boring.  Not at all.  It’s my friends who don’t read my blog who are boring.

But opening up about something that makes me look bad isn’t something I typically do.  But I’m on a journey beyond where I am.  I know that it seems odd to some who read this blog… especially people who know me.  Actually, I have a great life, I am very fulfilled and by the standards of many people pretty successful.

How well you are doing isn’t the proper measuring rod.  It is how much are you capable of?  And how much more there is that you are letting slip through your fingers? 

I am determined not to take the easy way.  I have had several people say that they admired the fact that I am writing a blog (especially writing two entries a week).  I am very appreciative and thankful for their kind words.  But if there is something a person is called to do (and I truly believe I am to write this blog) then there can be no other option but do it. 

The compelling quiet whisper that invaded my heart and head is relentless in its firm gentle way.  It is the quiet whisper that is calling me to venture beyond my comfortable world into the risky business of the unknown.

So I continue to press on… and let me say… it has made life much more of an adventure.   The final verses of Robert Frost’s Road Less Traveled are right on.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I– 
I took the one less traveled by, 
And that has made all the difference.
…Robert Frost

 

Traveling the path into the unknown and unfamiliar is risky, time consuming and demands investment.  It takes a lot of effort to start and effort to maintain momentum, but the ongoing investment is eventually transformed into passion.

“At some point, turning back is not an option.”

 

When is the last time you tried something for the first time?  Is there something stirring from within that demands attention? 

Hopefully this little blog is challenging you to lean in closely to the voice trying to get your attention.  Life is too short to ignore the “what if”. 

I am sorry if I am sounding a little preachy… I don’t mean to be.  I do want to encourage.  

What is the one small thing that you think you are to do that you’re not doing?  Is there a call you need to make, letter to write, a person you need to forgive, to let go of the failure you hang on too, read that book, go to that church, write that song, or release the rock that you have carried for too long.

For me it was to take that first step beyond the safe wall of self and write this blog.  Thank God I have.

See you Monday

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13
May 10

The Positive Negative

Hello… Pumpkin Head here.  If you did not read the last blog the Pumpkin Head thing will make no sense what so ever.

The time box that I have been exploring the past couple of blogs has been pretty interesting, sentimental, fun and… not so fun.  Looking through the box I found some vivid reminders of my academic accomplishments, or more accurately non-accomplishments. 

I was in the quarter of the graduating class that made the upper three quarters possible.  The interesting thing is that I know now that I’m not dumb.   

Side Note:  Not being dumb doesn’t mean that I haven’t done some stupid stuff and goofy things.  I have learned that intellect doesn’t negate stupidity.

Have you ever done anything stupid?  Humm… my guess is… YES!    

 

Although I don’t think I am dumb you would never known it by my grades, they were horrible.  I even had to repeat a grade in High School because I failed too many classes.  (Too bad the pass theory now in place in schools wasn’t in there when I was in school.)

Not only did I make crappy grades I didn’t fit in.  I was the classic misfit.  I wasn’t cool enough to be with the popular kids; athletic enough to be a jock; obviously academically challenged as to not make it to the National Honor Society crowd;  or bad enough to hang out with the “Bad Boys”.

I was just there… pretty much a non-entity.

Side Note:  While writing all this about myself I could just hear some of the various responses.

  • “Poor thing”
  • “Ahhh”
  • If you are from the South you said, “Oh bless his heart.”

Now don’t go feeling bad for me.  My psyche wasn’t damaged too much and I did all right for myself.  I ended up marrying a hot girl from Georgia who was Miss High School everything plus Homecoming Queen… so take that Linda from Miss Rogers 5th period History class.  Sorry, I just got carried away.

I’m sure the big question on your mind is, “So what?”  You may be wondering what in the world does this guy sharing his High School experiences have to do with me. 

Maybe nothing.  Maybe more than you might think. 

This blog is about a journey, a journey away from things that restrict growth, freedom, and experiencing life at it’s fullest.  It is also a journey to, to taking risks, putting things in their place and really enjoying this marvelous life ride we are all on.  What an adventure.  What a blessing.  I used to view negative things in my life so… so… negatively. 

This may sound strange but not all negative things are negative.  

I don’t know the negative things in your life that somehow ended up in your bag of rocks.  (See the 3/9/30 blog Sack of Rocks.)

All I know is that some of you are reading this blog and something is stirring.  Something that compels you to let go of some of those rocks you perceive as negative that have been making your journey a bit more difficult.

I have never openly shared that I failed a grade in High School… it was embarrassing.  But strangely enough I don’t see it nearly the deal it was at one time.  Growth and openness has a way of changing the way we see things.

See you Monday.

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10
May 10

The Big Indian

Howdy, back for another thrill filled blog adventure I see.  Well… thrill filled is a bit of an exaggeration. 

It’s probably more along the line of, you didn’t have any thing better to do or you can’t get to sleep and you are looking for a verbal sedative. 

Well, you’ve come to the right place.  I have found in my life that we tend to find what we’re looking for.  For some, this blog will knock you out pronto and to others it could hit that internal sweet spot sending a tingle up and down your leg (I hope Chris Mathews is reading this).

As most of you know I have been on a new personal journey that started January 4, 2010 with my first blog entry.  I have been mentally meandering looking at the joys of life and trying to put into place those things that tend to trap me from experiencing more of life’s amazing gifts.

The journey has been very forward looking but the past couple of blogs I have been looking back.  I discovered a time box from my youth that my mom had assembled before she passed away. 

This is not a morbid retrospective examination of my youth but an amazing blessing of context.  An honest open look at the past periodically is important to do… as long as looking back motivates forward motion. 

So while digging in the box I found all sorts of things that stirred deep stuff… good stuff.

The Birthday Card

Maybe it was me, maybe it is characteristic of youth, who knows… but I really didn’t appreciate things then that I cherish now.  When I say things, I don’t mean tangible stuff.  Frankly we didn’t have much stuff.  I didn’t know it at the time but we were actually pretty poor.  We knew that we couldn’t afford things like other people but it didn’t seem like we were poor.  Mom and dad (especially mom) was good at keeping us from feeling poor.

One thing I absolutely cherished then and now were my Grandma and Grandpa Woods.  This was my mom’s mother (Polly) and her step-father (Frank).  They were full of life, joy, fun, and unconditional love.  I loved my father’s parents but… they were old and acted it.

Side Note:  Mom’s dad, Bennie Palmer, died when she was 8 from a ruptured appendicitis.  She, a younger sister and baby brother and grieving mother were left alone… during the Great Depression in Missouri.

My grandpa Woods came on the scene and filled the void. 

 

Grandpa Woods was full-blooded Cherokee Indian.  Although we were not blood related, we were his grandkids, he absolutely loved us and we him.  He was a short rotund man whos belly bounced when he laughed.  I remember him being a very hard worker. 

Because he was a full-blooded Cherokee he gave all of us kids Indian names.  And he called us by our Indian name.  I honestly believe he did not know what our real names were… seriously.

The Indian names were really cool.  My sister was “Morning Star”, my cousin was “Buffalo”, another cousin “Papoose”. 

But then there was my name.  Well, you might say it didn’t have quite the flare the other names possessed.  (Hold on, hold on, I’ll tell you in a minute)

In the time box I discovered a birthday card from my Grandpa Woods on my first birthday.  Inside he wrote….

          “To little Pumpkin Head Jerry.  From Grandpa Woods”

 

Pumpkin Head!  That may be cute for others but you ought to live with it.  This is especially true as a teenager.  Seriously… when we were in a store or at church he would yell across the room my name.  He did this not to make fun, he did it like anyone would to call someone’s name to get their attention.

Being called “Pumpkin Head” is especially not cool when as a 15 year old you’re talking to a girl… not fun at all!  He called us all by our Indian names into adulthood until he died.

When younger I was embarrassed.  I was concerned about what people would think and that I would look bad.  I’m not different from most folks but it’s pretty sad the focus we place on making sure we look ok to the world around us.

I have a couple of questions for you.  What do you value now that was not important when you were younger?  Is there anything that embarrassed you when you were young but now you see that it is a part of the fabric of your life that makes you who you are?  

I don’t know about you but I sure would like to hear him call me “Pumpkin Head” again. 

Signing off, see you Thursday.

Pumpkin Head

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6
May 10

Unpacking the Box

Hello again.  Wanna help me unpack?  Any help provided in these matters is always valued and appreciated.

I know the question about unpacking sounds weird but if you take a minute to read the last blog entry it will make sense.

I mentioned that the time box from my youth created a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts.  It was very stirring.

It is important to note and differentiate the difference between being stirred and troubled about something.

Both tend to have an unsettling dimension… a sensation of slow bubbling fermentation.  But to me, both are very different at the core.

Stirring has the sense of something loosening up or breaking apart.  These are old encrusted things being freed from their casement of distorted perspective, faulty memory or erroneous beliefs at a given time in our past.

At the core it is a good thing (uncomfortable… even scary… but good).

Troubled has an ominous feel and is sinister in nature.  Troubling things poke at us demanding attention… all of our attention.  It can easily suck us into a black hole taking us down.

What I am feeling is stirred.  There is something in all of this for me that creates a sense of anticipation… even excitement.

I know that poking around the past can be a bit dicey if not careful.  But our past in proper perspective provides amazing insight to who we are, what we believe and wonderful context to the journey we are on.

The Box

One of the first things I found was a yellowed envelope that had a sort of fabric feel because the stiffness of the paper had deteriorated.  I gently opened the flap and inside was beautiful blond curls of hair… my hair.  It felt weird seeing my childhood hair.

I looked on the envelope and in faded pencil was written, “Jerry’s curls – age 3”.  I have some pictures of me at that age sporting a head full of blond curly hair.  I thought about posting one but that would have been weirder.

Side Note: The items in a time box tell more about the person who saved and packed the box than the specific subject of those items.

As I waded through the box I was beginning to understand more about my mom than learning things about myself.

At the time of the cutting of the curls my mother was a 28 year old woman with three boys (a fourth died shortly after birth).   She had married at the age of 17 to a man who was a migrating country preacher; 10 years her senior… times were hard.

With the envelope I saw a young mother trying to hold on to a snippet of time by capturing the essence of children she loved.  Maybe it was her small way to stop time in a life wrapped in the continuous motion of church, moving and three rambunctious boys under the age of 7.

It makes me wonder what I would pack in a time box.  What would it say about me?  What would your time box say about you?

Interesting things for me to ponder as I continue to unpack my box.

See you Monday.

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3
May 10

A Time Box

Good Day!

I feel kinda weird this morning, I sit pecking away on my computer trying to allow escape of anything of worth and meaning.

This journey of life I am on is taking a new twist… we are unexpectedly moving (that’s a story for a different time).

Don’t be afraid of unexpected twists and turns in life.  They used to rattle me.  But I have learned that they tend to be gateways not obstacles.  What I viewed as a negative, in the greater scheme, were amazing points of growth and opportunity. 

The beauty of a river is not in the straightness of the path.  The beauty and contribution a river makes is in the countless twists and turns as it winds its way through the countryside providing life and enjoyment.   So my river of life is taking a new bend to new territory.  It’s not comfortable but it’s exciting.

So back to my weird start, it is due primarily to the pensive mood I am in.  As I mentioned, my wife and I are moving so I spent most of the afternoon yesterday sorting through boxes in the basement.  Most of the boxes have lain dormant for years tucked out of the way in their assigned corner unnoticed, undisturbed.    

Most of the boxes contained bits and pieces of kitchen and household stuff that when opened demanded an impulsive burst of, “Why in the world did we keep this?”

But then I opened a box of stuff that my mother had in her home.  I am one of five and she had boxes for each of us kids where she tossed all sorts of oddball things that were mementos of our youth.

It was like opening a box of time. 

Side Note:  To get a perspective of where you are and where you are going it is necessary to periodically look back.  It is not a place to dwell but a place that provides context.

 

Most of the boxes I opened with casual disregard… a chore that needed to be accomplished and expediency the goal.

But when I pulled this box onto my lap there was a pause, a sudden slowness to my cadence.  There was an unexpected soberness. 

I cracked the box and the distinct smell of time escaped… musty, dusty and fragile. 

I had very mixed feelings about the box.  Like most people I grew up with a mixed bag of good things and not so good things. 

I was blessed with some wonderful positives that laid a magnificent foundation for my life.  Two things particularly shouted loudly.

  1. I was loved… really loved.  There is nothing more beautiful and foundational. 
  2. Faith… a real, personal, meaningful, relevant faith. 

But… there’s always a “but”, I have other parts of my youth that shaped me in a not so positive way. 

Allow me to share a couple of examples for context.  I knew that we moved a lot.  In my baby book mom listed my birthdays and each of the first nine I lived in a different town.  Secondly, most people enjoyed their high school years, not me, mine were awful. 

I unpacked and sorted the box physically but over the next couple of blogs I plan to unpack it mentally.

There’s a lot stirring.  Not bad stuff, it’s a good stirring.  Its things that I believe will serve me well on my current journey.

If you stick with me over the next couple of blogs you too may learn something about yourself from my time box.

See you Thursday.

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15
Apr 10

Stayin’ Alive

Hi. 

Are you new to my blog journey or are you an old friend?  I can’t tell who you are or how many times you have visited.  I just know how many visitors I have on any given day. 

I kind of like the anonymity.  It keeps me from getting nervous.  For all I know you could be Oprah, Joe the Plumber or Lady GaGa.  Or you could be a person like myself that is remarkably ordinary, enjoys the journey of life, and likes to know how other people see the world.

I have become more and more fascinated with life, people, and nature.  Something continues to be awakened.  In the early blogs I talked about a stirring within.  There is something inside pushing at the confines testing the potential of release.  Sort of like one of those street mimes who silently and methodically work their hands around the invisible box. 

It is not a negative feeling at all.  In fact it is joyous.  Movement indicates life, and new life always brings joy. 

That’s why I am pumped at having a blog.  It is not because I think it’s cool, but because this blog was the eventual manifestation of one of those invisible rumblings. 

Side Note:  Sometimes life can become so rhythmic that the repetitive cadence creates a comfortable stupor.  The essentials of life continue to progress with their defined routine.  Nothing is bad, nothing is wrong, nothing is happening, nothing….

Please don’t get me wrong.  Having routine in life is normal and appropriate.  Nor am not talking about thrill seeking, or doing something dramatic just because you feel bored.  (Jesse… what were you thinking?  Poor Sandra and the kids have to live with the pain of your need to be a thrill seeker.  Not cool!)

 

I believe there is a continuous call for us to awaken from our stupor.  A Divine tap on the shoulder that is trying to get our attention to realize the dormant seeds inside that just need a little tending. 

What are the things we can do to awaken the dormant seed?  Simple, take a lesson our childhood.  Three simple words stop, drop and roll.  Uh… oops!  My mistake.  That’s what you do when you’re on fire. 

Let’s try again.  How about stop, look and listen (yep, that’s better)?  I know that’s what we were taught about crossing the street but it applies to this.

Stop:  Anytime… just stop… pause long enough to disrupt the cadence of the moment.

Look:  Slowly look around and see something simple and seemingly ordinary that may catch your eye.

Listen:  Literally say a quick statement (for me it is a prayer)  “Help me to hear what I need to hear.”  Then open your heart and mind and tune your ears to hear something audibly or internally. 

Now do it.  Seriously.   I’ll wait.  Take a moment. 

I have no question that sometime this week you will think of Stop, Look and Listen.  If you do, take it seriously and do it.  Now it may take a couple of weeks but I guarantee that a dormant seed will begin stirring.  We will talk about how you nurture it at another time. 

Enjoy life.  See you Monday.

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1
Apr 10

Trick-or-Truth

Hello.  Welcome back.

This blog thing is getting pretty draining.  I think I will give it up.

Psyche!  April Fool’s.

I know, I know… pretty childish.  Just messin with you.  I better not get too spunky, some of you may actually be bummed that I plan to continue to write.  Oh well.  I think it best I move on before I dig this hole any deeper.

In the last blog I started to respond to a comment made by Kathy.  I touched on the topic of Truth.  I mentioned that I believe there is Truth and there are truths.

Note to all of my non-Christ follower friends:  This is a topic that will definitely have some spiritual context.  I am not expecting for you to believe like I do but I do hope that I share some things that may cause you to think.

I would really like to have your thoughts and comments because I am open to have my thinking stirred also.  So please share your perspective.  Once again, don’t worry, I won’t get preachy on you.

Just so you know, I believe that all truth comes from a single source… God.

There are two distinguishing characteristics of Truth that I would like to poke around on for a bit.  They are, Truth Informs and Transforms.  I plan on talking about how Truth Transforms in the next blog on Monday but for today I will tackle Informs.

Honest Confession: I used the word “Informs” because it had a nice ring when partnered with “Transforms”.

Yes it is shallow and self serving but you gotta admit… the words do sound good together (Sort of like Captain and Tannille, Sunny and Cher or Pebbles and Bam Bam).

Although the word “Inform” is somewhat descriptive it is much too mundane and vanilla for the weight and significance it carries.  There is nothing mundane or vanilla about Truth.

What I mean by Informs is that Truth has a way of quietly piercing the clutter to let us know that we are nearing something of substance and significance.  There is a weighty awareness about the situation we’re in or a thought about something we are mulling over that stills us with… “there is something big here that is deserving of my attention.”

I tried to come up with an example but I found it extremely difficult.  I could not articulate anything that even comes close to the point I am trying to make.

It dawned on me that this is the nature of Truth.  You can’t wrap your mind around it in total.  These encounters provide a small pin hole, a glimpse, of Truth.  As you go through life these small pin holes begin to form a picture, a sense of Who and what Truth is all about.

I believe that Truth is constantly being revealed but we are unaware or blind.  One has to be open and ready, expecting something at any time.  This is not a burdensome duty of being on the “look out” but a childlike anticipation and excitement of discovery at any moment.

In our small community we have neighborhood parades on Memorial Day and Labor Day.  About 9:45 in the morning the homes on each street begin sporadically burping up people to make their way to the parade route.

The children are the most fun to watch.  They are animated, alert and fidgety with excitement.  Even before you hear the siren of the lead police car there is a groundswell of energy that clearly announces that something is about to happen.  The kids start leaning out toward the street, stretching their necks and poking their heads over each other to be the first to get a glimpse of the flashing blue light that proclaiming the reality of something special.

This is the way I want to be in looking for Truth.  A childlike excitement and joy.

Truth is amazing.

See you Monday.

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9
Mar 10

The Voice Again

Whether you hear it or not there is a voice calling… a zephyr voice so slight that it easily gets lost in the noise of life.  It is a quiet voice that catches our attention in odd, obscure ways.

Maybe it is something we heard, read or saw that quietly touched something.  A place inside we weren’t even aware of until it got our attention.  We were stilled by an odd curiosity or being intrigued by something obscure or out of character.

What or who is this voice?  Is it destiny… premonition… God… heartburn…?

Literature has mentioned this voice for centuries in terms of… the call of the sea… the call of the mountains… the call of the wild, or any other sort of descriptor that compels us to step beyond where we are into the unknown.

An Interesting Event:

I was just interrupted by a knock at the front door.  I was a bit frustrated because the knock caused me to break stride in my flow of thought on this all important blog of mine.

I opened the door, there standing before me was a very nervous, awkward young Boy Scout (about 11 would be my guess).  He was appropriately attired in his scouting shirt patches and all.  He was going door to door selling mulch for his troop.

I was stilled.  I knew immediately that this was not to be a casual, “No thank you.”

When I first saw him his eyes quickly shifted from my face to my chest and then made their way to my feet.  This is where they stayed most of the time except with an occasional glance upward as comfort allowed or the sales pitch demanded when presenting the brochure.

His father was standing a couple of feet to the side with that… you’re on your own but I’m here to help you posture.  His non-verbals spoke clearly of support… but also protection.  Not physical protection but the kind of protection you give to a child that seems to have been on the “outside” and who knows the ramifications of being so.

Side Note: Some of you reading know what it means to be on the “outside”.  This is not foreign territory.  It is not a pleasant place to be.

The blog… my interrupted flow of thought… my frustration, quickly were put in their place because there was something beyond my here and now.

The VOICE!

The voice calls us out and calls us to.  This time it was “to”.

You see, this journey is not one of selfish insight.  It is a journey of wholeness.  And wholeness is never selfish.  The voice always takes us out of self, never toward self.

The “Be Prepared” scout did not need me to be patient or attentive as he explained the benefits of purchasing mulch in bulk.  But I believe it made his stop at the next house easier.  And that’s important… especially if you are one who has been use to struggling.

I never want to allow the noise of life (or this blog) to hide the gentle call.

There is a voice… constantly calling… voice beyond view that beckons us to something.

How is your hearing?  If you aren’t open you will miss amazingly great and precious opportunities to grow or touch.

Ciao.

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4
Mar 10

A Sack of Rocks

Nice to see you again.  Hopefully my last few blog entries have encouraged you to take the step you have been reluctant to do take.  If you didn’t, maybe today will be that day… no pressure.

But if you for some reason decided not to step out into the risky unknown (or you took a small step and didn’t continue) I offer you a caution from personal experience.

Usually when we seriously contemplate a step in a new direction it is because something has stirred us and we feel compelled to move.  But then something happens, we decide not to step out or we quickly stop.

We then tend to feel pretty crappy and caulk it up as another missed opportunity.  Now this is where it gets dicey, if not careful we end up tossing another rock in the sack we carry on our backs as a souvenir of our perceived failure.

Sack of Rocks: This is a bag that we all carry.  It is loaded with rocks that we have accumulated from life experiences, failures, tragedy or anything else that tends to weigh us down.

Everyone has a sack but the load carried depends on whether or not the person decides to put the rock in their bag.  It’s tough trying to march up a mountain with a load of rocks on our backs.

You probably notice that I use the term perceived failure.  I will drill down on this in a moment but first we need to be honest with ourselves.  Sometimes we do fail.  It’s not a perceived failure, it is a legitimate failure.  I mean… we have all really done some stupid stuff.

We make big mistakes in our lives and the consequences are pretty clear.  We cannot (must not) make excuses for some decisions or actions we have made.  The reality is, some things are just wrong and we need to stop and change our behavior.

“You can’t talk yourself out of something you acted yourself into.”

– Stephen Covey

aaa

Back to the “perceived failure” topic.

As mentioned there are things we do that are wrong and they are pretty clear.  But there are a lot of things that occur where we feel we have failed and… yep you guessed it… we throw another rock in the sack because we feel like we deserve it.  And on our journey we have accumulated a sack of rocks so heavy that it makes it difficult to try anything new or anything again.

I have come to believe that what we perceive as failure many times is in reality a part of the process of our growth.

Allow me a metaphor about a butterfly.

I know what you’re thinking… oh brother… that’s all I need, a cheesy little story about a sweet little butterfly.  Stick with me it’s actually a pretty good illustration.

The transformation of becoming a butterfly is in the hidden confines of the cocoon.  There is a divine transformation occurring and no one sees it.  After the butterfly has developed to such a point internally, the transformation work then transitions into the open.

The butterfly struggles and pushes to be released from the confines.  The butterfly could beat up on itself for having such a difficult time… for trying and stopping for a bit.

But here’s the miracle.  The struggle is part of the process.  The pressing and pushing is the very thing that is forcing life into the wings.

For too long I beat myself up for my perceived failures.  I carried a lot of unnecessary rocks.  Life’s tough enough the way it is without carrying extra weight.  I don’t know about you but I am unloading rocks.  I’ve got a more to unload but I can tell already that the climb this mountain is much easier.

Don’t believe the lie that you need to carry the rocks.  Go ahead… take one out and toss it.  Just don’t throw it in my direction.

You can keep throwing rocks in your sack or you can STOP IT!

I love this video.  It’s fun but more importantly there is a lot of truth to it.  It is a simple truth that we need to take to heart.

gg

YouTube Preview Image

rr

By the way, you’ll need to lighten your load because we’re getting ready to climb a pretty steep portion of the mountain.

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