There are some chapters in our lives where the pages seem easy to turn through. Life seems easy. Things are fun. Opportunities seem easy to conquer. Then there are chapters where pages feel heavy. Movements seem difficult. Words are difficult to read and even though those very words define us more during the difficult chapters, it still seems difficult to grapple with our current reality.
As God writes our story and we seek to define ourselves in him, it is important for us to realize that, as character's in his story, there are some things God wants and doesn't want for us. Along the path or perhaps to the side are traps that we choose to either ignore, pass or get entangled in. These entanglements make it difficult to turn the pages. It is important for us to recognize that our loss of freedom from these traps will cause us to give up hope, to stop dreaming dreams and to accept the hole of our current status. What every reader of the story is asking as they read is this: Will the character overcome? Will the character fight for their freedom? Will the character reach up and take God's hand of rescue?
Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 10: 8-9 and in the New Living Translation it reads:
"When you dig a well, you might fall in.
When you demolish an old wall, you could get bitten by a snake.
When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you.
When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax."
This is perhaps a duh moment for me, but I found it significant. John, don't be surprised if this happens to you. If you purchase a home, don't be surprised if the value plummets. If you play basketball with people better than you, don't be surprised if you get hurt.
Thursday will mark a significant day in my wife's and I's lives. For about 5 years ago, I allowed us to get trapped into a significant financial commitment that has drawn on us and I allowed it to define us. This last saturday, we listed one of these traps in the pursuit of heading in a new direction. A new direction that is marked by God's fingerprints. There have been many lessons that we have learned as we have dealt with everything from evicting renters, to cleaning up messes to making up for no rents. The most important lesson has been over this fall. The next chapter of our lives requires that I learn to let go of this mistake and move on in freedom.
As God writes our story and we seek to define ourselves in him, it is important for us to realize that, as character's in his story, there are some things God wants and doesn't want for us. Along the path or perhaps to the side are traps that we choose to either ignore, pass or get entangled in. These entanglements make it difficult to turn the pages. It is important for us to recognize that our loss of freedom from these traps will cause us to give up hope, to stop dreaming dreams and to accept the hole of our current status. What every reader of the story is asking as they read is this: Will the character overcome? Will the character fight for their freedom? Will the character reach up and take God's hand of rescue?
Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes 10: 8-9 and in the New Living Translation it reads:
"When you dig a well, you might fall in.
When you demolish an old wall, you could get bitten by a snake.
When you work in a quarry, stones might fall and crush you.
When you chop wood, there is danger with each stroke of your ax."
This is perhaps a duh moment for me, but I found it significant. John, don't be surprised if this happens to you. If you purchase a home, don't be surprised if the value plummets. If you play basketball with people better than you, don't be surprised if you get hurt.
Thursday will mark a significant day in my wife's and I's lives. For about 5 years ago, I allowed us to get trapped into a significant financial commitment that has drawn on us and I allowed it to define us. This last saturday, we listed one of these traps in the pursuit of heading in a new direction. A new direction that is marked by God's fingerprints. There have been many lessons that we have learned as we have dealt with everything from evicting renters, to cleaning up messes to making up for no rents. The most important lesson has been over this fall. The next chapter of our lives requires that I learn to let go of this mistake and move on in freedom.
On a side note, if you are looking for a great deal on a townhouse in Blaine, Minnesota, feel free to give me a call.
Good post. Doesn't do the struggle justice, but good post.
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