Finding Me Truth #11: Fingerprints in The Tension

There’s this tension of living in a world that’s not peaceful, that’s not safe, that’s not what you want it to be in all the moments you breathe – comfortable, expected, controllable.

But if we diminish the presence and fingerprints of God in the story, through the tension, we negate the peace and the safety He can provide if we surrender and let Him.

This world is a crazy place to be in sometimes. Turning on the news or hearing a recap of the MTV VMAs reminds me just how crazy.

All the more reason why God is in the business of fixing things and redeeming broken things, with a particular tenacity for us – human beings.

 

Finding Me Truth #10: The Unexpected

Growing, learning, grieving

Amazing how years after a loss, the grief can still be so debilitating & quite unexpected.

Reflecting and grateful for the pain.

It means I have loved.

Grief is love’s souvenir. It’s our proof that we once loved. Grief is the receipt we wave in the air that says to the world: Look! Love was once mine. I love well. Here is my proof that I paid the price.” ― Glennon Doyle Melton, Love Warrior: A Memoir

Finding Me Truth #10: Review the Dysfunction 

Sometimes relationships end because they were unhealthy and at some point you became healthy and you changed.

The change meant the dysfunction you brought to the table was now replaced by better thinking, healthier interactions, and a more grounded you.

When you’re unhealthy you can live in dysfunctional relationships and friendships with other people. But when you become healthy and you find those relationships don’t progress with you it just might be they were never meant to.

Some things are seasonal. Berries. Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. And connections with some that can’t move forward into your future.

You’re different. Healthy. Better. They could be different. Healthy. Better too. And maybe independent of each other you realize what held you together in past days is gone, diffused and unneeded, because you both are very different people now.

And if you try to go back to the nostalgia, to the memories of what used to be because yeah, maybe those were great days full of great laughter, and you hope the memories of the past can hold together the rupturing realities of your present, don’t do it.

Let it go. Let that person go. Let it go.

It will be a tough road but it will also be incredibly freeing. There’s a rest and peace that comes with letting people go.

Sometimes you just “got to leave the party.”

I’m learning that leaving doesn’t mean I’m not a good friend and I don’t love well. Leaving keeps my heart healthy and ready for new seasons and new relationships.

Now when I let go of fading relationships, I’m finding more truth by reviewing if dysfunction was present at some point. If I was unhealthy in those relationships at some point. I’ve done this recently and the observations were stunning.

Was dysfunction present? Yes.

Did I see it then? No.

What changed? I became healthy in various areas of my life.

What happened to the dysfunction? I grew into wellness and as a result, created a shift in these relationships.

Was it easy to let go? It’s never easy to let go when you bond with someone. But I’m learning letting go makes space for better things to begin in my world.

Be grateful for the relationships that you have to let go. Think about how they changed you for the better and allowed you to become more of the you that you are today.

Finding Me Truth #8: You Need A Pillow

Sometimes the best thing may seem like the least productive thing.

Humans tend to think if we’re not doing something, changing something, being a catalyst for something, then we are not productive, not useful and are ineffective.

A friend told me he heard someone say, “The most spiritual thing people can do sometimes is take a nap. Resting shows your trust in God and not in what you can do.”

I think those words are stellar.

People need pillows. People need rest. People need naps. 

Rest brings recharge for the body. Your mind gets some peace while your body renews itself and cells get regenerated and such. Sleep and rest are a good thing for finite human beings in rechargeable body vehicles. I’m sorry, I just think it’s funny to say “rechargeable body vehicles.”

Anyhoos, rest yourself today. God neither sleeps nor slumbers. Well, he kinda doesn’t need to…he is God. But he does model rest for us. After he made the world in six days, he took the seventh day off and rested. He rested. If he does it, then I for sure know that I need to do it and I haven’t even made a planet or an animal like a kangaroo like he has.

Finding Me Truth #7: That Kool-Aid

Sometimes, you just gotta stop drinking the kool-aid. Wake up. It’s time to live. Make changes in your life. Get out of the box, trapezoid, octagon – whatever shape you stuck in – get outta there and don’t ever go back. Decide to thrive and no longer just exist. Make authenticity your #currentmood all the time. Choose growth, all the time, every time. Don’t be different; do different.