Comfort

I want to rant about feeling comfort, or being comfortable in random, every day acts of life. Finding comfort from someone, offering it to someone else, or feeling comfortable in what you do every day.

I have found that I don’t really like the phrase “out of your comfort zone”. It makes me feel like you’re about to hit some time-warp-headed-for-disaster sort of thing. Like whatever you are about to attempt is going to make you feel annoyed, bothered, or scared to the point of peeing your pants. Great, right?

Not so much.

Rightly so, why wouldn’t you gravitate towards something that actually made you feel good? Why not attempt to do that? That sounds way better then having an accident…

Well, what if what you REALLY want to do is only attained by doing something slightly lame or taxing beforehand, as a stepping stone.

Yeah. That is what I’m talking about.

The nitty-gritty “ugh, I don’t want to do this… but I know that it will help me in the long run… ugh… whine… whine more…”

I really believe that this whole concept is a continual cycle, set up by Jesus, to make us help each other out. There will always be someone you know that is in the “icky” phase attempting to achieve the “comfortable” phase. And you, yourself, I’m sure, have been there, too. So, finding a way to comfort and offer support for someone else may one day lead to receiving it in return.

See the cycle?

Yeah. Me too.

So what is it that I really want to say on this topic of comfort?...

I guess it’s just to be aware. You never know how much you can change someone’s day by replying in a nice tone and taking an extra few minutes to listen to a story (that you really could care less about) but will put a smile on their face.

Who knows!  You’ll probably have a lame story to share tomorrow as well.

Cheers to Wednesday! May everyone make it over the dreaded mid-week hump. 

Loss

Today was just another day for me. Same old Friday. Went to work. Did some Christmas shopping. Overall uneventful.

For over 30 families out east, today will be a day that is never forgotten. A day that changes everything. A loved one lost, a family forever less then whole. Holiday celebrations completely trashed. Future birthdays never to be celebrated in a way that is tangible and exciting.

Loss.

I almost lost it at work today. My throat constricted and my eyes welled up. The pain of loss was very apparent and it was hard to breathe as I read the news. I had a hard time finishing the day without being a total space cadet. My heart hurts. It brings me back to the unexpected terror of knowing that a special person in your life will never be coming back. The raw, paralyzing pain of despair.

It makes me sick.

I want to say that I couldn't believe something so awful could happen. But it did. And it has before. And it will again in the future. This world is never going to stop being awful. It will only deteriorate more until Christ comes to take us home to Him.

So what the heck do we do in the mean time? What can possibly be said to rationalize the murder of little children?

Nothing really comes to my mind.

All I know is that I will be praying, really hard, for the families out east. The ones who will now be living the rest of their lives without getting to see their child grow up.

I hope you will pray for them, too.

Honesty

Theme. This has been the theme of the last week. And it’s ridiculous how many things can be revealed when you look at them… honestly…

I strive to be an honest person. But the key word in that phrase is ‘strive’, meaning it doesn’t always happen. The moment you give up the clarity that comes with being honest, is the moment you will regret whatever happens next. I feel like I’m speaking slightly in code… but I think you know what I mean.

Turning your eyes away from a situation that you don’t want to deal with and rationalizing that situation in your head to turn it in your favor, doesn’t really ever bring true peace. It just prolongs the truth from revealing itself, thereby creating new issues until you are knee deep in a lie (not necessarily a fabrication, but a situation that you really don't want to be a part of), begging for someone to figure it out so you can be set free.

Now, throughout this last week I cannot pinpoint major instances that I have been telling lies (I know, you’re all waiting for juicy secrets to be revealed), but by thinking about what I wanted to rant about this week, honesty and truth came to mind.  Hoping to maybe inspire myself and others to find a way to tell the truth, let go of something that maybe has been weighing on your mind.

Ok, example:

I spoke with an old friend of mine this week, one that I haven’t spoken to since like 2007. I know, crazy blast-from-the-past reconnection!!! Anyways, there were a couple of points that we touched on that completely shot holes through my own perceptions of, and got me thinking about, my family in a different perspective, my job in a new light, and how where I’m living really makes me feel.

I didn’t sugar-coat anything during that conversation. Just straight up BOOM

TRUTH.

And in my opinion, you have to do that every once in a while to get a grasp-on and savor the beautiful life that you are walking through.

Without it, unique experiences and renewed perspective on the same-old, same-old may never happen.

So, go ruminate on your life and find little nuggets of awesomeness that you might not have thought existed this morning.

Cheers