Monday, December 13, 2010

Obeying The Shoulds or God?

Of course, I probably should change the header photo on this blog. Christmas is less than two weeks away(!) and yet I've still got those autumn trees up there.

But I don't wanna. Change the photo, that is.

I've never been big about doing what other people think I should do. The few times I've given-in and done--not what God was asking me--but what others were, well, I felt like the witch in The Wizard of Oz: "I'm melting! Melting!"

You know, melting into something not my true self, but rather, being melted and poured into one of those plastic soap molds where the soap cools and comes out in the shape of an angel or a seashell or half a pineapple.

And then feeling all wrong because I was a different molded shape than what God planned all along. Or something like that.

I want to do and believe and act the way God tells me to do and believe and act. To hear those instructions within my heart and within the words other people share--but also--to know the difference between being led and being pushed. Between being told the truth (by others) and being lied to, even if the lie came out of a type of innocent ignorance.

And well, I think that autumn photo is the most thought-provoking one I've ever taken. I stare at it and glean something different from it sometimes. Good photos or paintings do that to us and for as long as it continues to do so, I'll keep it up there and switch it only when God whispers, "Ok. Time for a change."

I prefer to live that way. To leave the "shoulds" alone and walk that sort of scary tightrope of faith. And then see what happens.



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Here's a great article by Rob Price regarding the tyranny of the oughts and shoulds.


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4 comments:

K.E. said...

I love that photo. There's joy in it.
It's like an impressionist painting by Monet.
I love the movement of it; I feel the motion of the car, the wind in my hair, smell the crisp fall air, apples, perhaps a touch of wood smoke.

Debra said...

Wow, Kim! Thanks for letting me you 'get it.' Exactly so.

And there's that tree on the right. Oh my--he always speaks to me, he with his upraised arm in a wave.

(Uh-oh.) :)

Thanks so much for leaving your impressions! Blessings, Debra

Unknown said...

Way too often we go along with the crowd when we "should" be following God.

Saija said...

i hear ya ... sometimes you just need to march to your tune (or the one God is playing inside your heart) ... christmas is one of those times for me - we just don't do the "normal" things - we do the things that suit our family of two ... leo and me ... well family of three, if you count that chronic pain that continues to tag along ...

blessings on you guys ... and autumn headers ...