Sometimes I take adventures alone. Like when I drove to the huge blue-grey river down the street this morning.
Actually, it felt like Jesus sat in the front seat beside me and all of you were crammed in the back seat. Kinda crowded, but I kept writing this post by way of conversation. ツ
When I drove into the park, guess who greeted me from above? At least 80 geese in a V formation floating in the grey, wispy sky. I parked the car and finished listening to Patty Griffin's song about making pies (have you heard that one?) while I watched the geese until the last one vanished. I sipped my Burger King coffee and dreamed a bit before reading my book, nibbling my breakfast.
There are women (I know some) who don't have adventures.
They never sit in a movie theater alone (or with anybody else), eat in a restaurant, drive out in the country or do much of anything else out-and-about (except run errands and chauffeur kids). And these same women seldom go out for coffee with friends or shop with them or do anything more than make an occasional phone call to sustain a friendship. And then, over years, lose friends from neglect, sometimes not realizing those friends walked away until they're lying in a hospital bed and only a husband or child visits.
I try to pay attention to what's happening in my Life, but sometimes I get distracted (who doesn't?) and God has to yank me back to the spot in the road where I careened into a ditch.
Sometimes it feels like it's not my fault I'm mired in that ditch but nearly always, God tells me yes, it is. If I flew or stumbled into a ditch, then I had my eyes on something other than Him, most likely on problems, frustrations, fears or quite possibly, on decorating, movies or books.
But so very long ago He had Apostle Paul write.."For we walk by faith, not by sight." You'd think I could remember that and never forget.
Maybe that's why I take those drives down to the river even on cloudy, cold days. To recall what gets so easily forgotten in busyness. To pull myself up, with His help, from any ditches or even smaller (boring) ruts I've toddled into.
And to sing along with Barlow Girl the words to their Never Alone :
I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here and I'm never alone
And though I cannot see You
And I can't explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life
We cannot separate
'Cause You're part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen
The remembering He's always there, the never having to doubt anymore just because my feelings are sobbing something contrary. That has made all the difference. That keeps my feet on solid ground.
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"I will never leave you, nor forsake you." ... Hebrews 13:5
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All right, I confess. It gets me all hot and bothered when I try to help certain ailing people and immediately they recite from their Excuse List. Those lists usually sound like this:
"Oh no, I could never do that (helpful, freeing, life-changing) thing! I don't have enough money/time/energy/education. I don't live in the right house/neighborhood/town/Country. I'm too shy/timid/afraid. My husband/wife wouldn't like it, nor my friends/children/parents/neighbors or anybody else. It would never work, never fly because, let's face it, I'm not that kind of person."
Blah blah blah....
One thing I've seen: People who hold onto excuses seldom hold onto anything else.
Actually, Tom and I have fun catching one another at excuse-making. It's a Good Thing. We'll ask, "Is that your confession? That you'll never be able to _______?" Or we might say, "Well, if that's what you want to believe for, that you'll never become ____, I'll agree with you in prayer." Heh.
The times I've had the most trouble in my life? When I allowed my brain to become overwhelmed. I'd sit on couches, porches or in cars thinking, "Things are just too out-of-control, too hard to change, so why try?" And the longer I allowed myself to think that way, the deeper the pit I dug. A deep place of paralyzed helplessness.
I remembered those years because a couple weeks ago Tom and I got the documentary, Grey Gardens, from Netflix. Oh my. What a sad (albeit fascinating) example of what happens when you do nothing about something you could have done something about.
Grey Gardens isn't for everyone, but if you need a huge push out of Apathy Land, well, Big Edie and Little Edie just might push you out.
I love starting small and I advocate it. An article from the book, Wishcraft, eons ago greatly helped me walk out of messes and into what I wanted, instead, all with little steps. You can even read this book online here.
Forget that 'all or nothing' stuff. If you want to become a painter, pick up a brush. Buy some paints. If you owe fifty emails, send one or two of them today, then try again tomorrow. If you want an awesome home library, buy one book at a time (they'll add up). If you want more friends, reach out to someone, even if he/she appears to have enough friends already.
If you want to become a writer, pick up a pen or sit at your computer--just start writing. Or get some books on writing from the library, but still, write. But the worst thing you can do is say, "Oh, I can't start writing until I take those college writing classes and I can't take those classes until I make some money and I can't make some money until I find a job and I can't find a job until my kids are grown-up and..."
Eeks! That's the kind of stuff that gets me all hot and bothered.
There comes a time to bury our excuses, burn them! Blow them up and never voice them again. That is, if we ever want to fulfill dreams or our purpose or become healthy or help someone.
We can have excuses or we can have a better life--but we can't have both.
I don't know about you, but it blows me away that Today I can begin walking to a whole better life, one tiny step at a time.
But only if I destroy those excuses, leaving their shattered remains behind forever.
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Here's a question I find interesting----
What keeps you coming back to your favorite blogs? I'd love to see your answers in my comment box, anything and everything which constitutes a good blog in your opinion.
I'll add my comments after I see a few of yours.
Oh, and by the way-- There are no right or wrong answers so please don't be afraid to share! ツ
