Still Healing

I had surgery to fix a deviated septum in December. The surgery went quite well, but it takes at least eight weeks to feel the full benefits of the procedure. I wanted to be sure I had patience with the process, so I put a reminder on my calendar so it would remind me, "Patience - still healing", twice a week. It really helped me remember to keep my expectations in check and not expect too much, too quickly.
Since then, that thought, "Patience - still healing", has come to mind when I find myself getting twisted up about something in my life being imperfect or just not the way I want it at the moment. There are so many areas which are still healing in my life. And, God willing, I'll continue to heal and grow so eventually the things that bother me today won't be such a big deal. I imagine there will be a whole new layer of challenges to overcome at that time. But I'm beginning to understand that the cycle of being stretched outside of my comfort zone, growing in the ways I'm being called to grow, and being stretched again is all part of the process of life. Without this process, it's easy to fall in to atrophy. Sure, it's painful, but the pain is directly proportional to my investment in my old ways of being or relating to the world. And the gifts that I receive when I embrace this process are way beyond my imagination.
So the next time you find yourself railing against any situation, just tell yourself, "Patience - still healing".

Giving Up

We are programmed to never give up in this culture. "Keep striving, keep trying, don't give up!" is a common mantra. This is usually a good thing, since it's all too easy to short-change ourselves when we meet with obstacles of any time. However, the problem with this cultural habit is it makes it more difficult to give up things when it's time to let them go. We grasp on to things that are slipping through our fingers. If our circumstances are wresting control from us, it's likely that God has something greater in mind for us. But as long as we continue to grasp on desperately to the last vestiges of control, we make it impossible for God to fill up our arms with these blessings. So what if we took a different view of giving up? What if we saw giving up something that needs to go as an offering to God?

My friend Devon (www.divinecoach.com) defines surrender as "moving over to the winning side". Now that's a revolutionary view of giving up! With Lent approaching, maybe it's time to examine our lives (yes, me too) and ask, "What am I being called to give up today?".