Catastrophes
Journaling! Writing! Scribbling! Wonderful things! It is always a delight to hear about someone who has recently stepped into making a habit of writing. It's not some mysterious magic that solves all your problems, but it is a wonderful way to sort your thoughts. Time and time again, I hear people say how helpful it was to write. I always recommend it.
"I'm not a writer," you might say. Well, I say that no one is anything until they start doing it! I wasn't a painter until I started painting. I wasn't a guitar player until I started working at it. I wasn't even a writer until I simply started writing! It's such a weird notion! It almost makes sense: it's hard to try new things, to acknowledge you don't excel at everything, and to work at it anyway.
I suppose we've just forgotten: forgotten what it's like to discover, to explore, to learn. We've forgotten how frustrating a challenge can be and how satisfying it can be to overcome a challenge. We've forgotten that we won't be crushed by setbacks. Instead, we've started thinking that unknowns will cripple us. I'm sure there are so many thoughts and feelings interwoven into our reluctance, but, I assure you, there is so much to be gained in facing a challenge!
There was a time many moons ago where I had my heart and soul rent apart. I never imagined such a rending could exist inside a person. Through it, I have grown so much, gained so much, learned so much. The world is a truer brighter place. I see the hurts more clearly now, but I also see the joys and the hopes and the tenderness and the dreams and the wistful memories and the laughter and the creativity!
I would never wish such a rending on anyone, but I have great esteem for catastrophes.
"I'm not a writer," you might say. Well, I say that no one is anything until they start doing it! I wasn't a painter until I started painting. I wasn't a guitar player until I started working at it. I wasn't even a writer until I simply started writing! It's such a weird notion! It almost makes sense: it's hard to try new things, to acknowledge you don't excel at everything, and to work at it anyway.
I suppose we've just forgotten: forgotten what it's like to discover, to explore, to learn. We've forgotten how frustrating a challenge can be and how satisfying it can be to overcome a challenge. We've forgotten that we won't be crushed by setbacks. Instead, we've started thinking that unknowns will cripple us. I'm sure there are so many thoughts and feelings interwoven into our reluctance, but, I assure you, there is so much to be gained in facing a challenge!
There was a time many moons ago where I had my heart and soul rent apart. I never imagined such a rending could exist inside a person. Through it, I have grown so much, gained so much, learned so much. The world is a truer brighter place. I see the hurts more clearly now, but I also see the joys and the hopes and the tenderness and the dreams and the wistful memories and the laughter and the creativity!
I would never wish such a rending on anyone, but I have great esteem for catastrophes.
Haha! The first part of your post made me chuckle because I know that when I say, "I'm only a math person," I'm really just making an excuse! Sometime I simply don't want to put forth the effort. Or maybe, it's just not the stage in my life to make it a priority. (Meditating on Psalm 16:6 helps me accept my limitations. The Lord sets my boundaries.) But I totally agree that tackling a challenge is a freeing experience! Good encouragement.
ReplyDeleteThe second part of this post resonates very deeply with me. My own rending has taught me this: often, what looks like death is actually God preparing the soil for new life. What greater catastrophe could there be than the cross, and yet what greater source of life to us all could there be? His ways are not our ways. God, give us eyes to see.