One Step Further
When I was a kid we had an electric fence around our vegetable garden to keep the rabbits out. Of course it did a lot more than keep the rabbits out. It also led to a never ending cycle of fascinating experiments designed to uncover the mysteries of electricity (and our personal pain threshold). In retrospect I can’t believe I was raised in a world where my backyard play area also included a fully exposed live wire around the vegetable patch and nothing much was thought of it. It kind of makes today’s concepts of safety seem a bit over the top (or the opposite – that concepts of safety back then bordered on negligence!).
In the many years since then, I’ve found other parts of life that are just like that electric fence. The wire is not visible and the shock feels a bit different but the dynamics are the same: whenever I put my hand past that line I get zapped. These lines a bit trickier, though - like the line between work and rest, or the line between being honest with myself and telling a story, or the line between self control and self indulgence. I’ve been shocked many times, yet it never seems to be enough.
These two ideas collided as I considered something about my journey with God. I was reading a part of Psalms which was detailing a bit of a ‘spin cycle’ in Israel’s history. They would take a few steps away from the life they’d agreed to live with God and get burned. Eventually the ‘burn’ would get bad enough that they’d realize what had happened and take a step back. Then they would heal, a bit of time would pass and their guard would come down and they’d forget. Then they would take a few steps away from the life they’d agreed to live and the cycle starts all over again.
It’s just like that childhood version of my brother and I standing by the rabbit fence endlessly surprised all over again at what it felt like to put our hand on the wire. Shock! Then we’d pull our hand off. A few moments would pass and we’d think, “It wasn’t that bad…”, then Shock! And we’d pull our hand off again…
I guess all of this has led to a hunger. So much of my life has been shaped by shock-avoidance as I stand near the fence and try not to get burned. So much of my life has been shaped by taking only as many steps back as is required to shut the shock off. I’m starting to wonder about getting away from the fence all together. What would it feel like to deal with a different set of signals? Instead of “Shock! there’s a problem so step back…”, what about “Surprise! here’s another surge of strength so move ahead!”
There are at least two ways God can make Himself a reality to you. He can be the bite on the other side of a problem or He can be the surge of freedom on the other side of courage. Have you stepped far enough away from the fence that you not only no longer feel the shock but you are starting to encounter the ‘surprise of another kind’? Do you practice only problem avoidance? Or have you started to practice ‘possibility creation’?
I’m dealing less and less every day with shocks and problems. Every day, more and more I’m switching to ‘bread crumbs along a trail of great possibilities’. Try it. You might like it.
Something to consider – and something to ask questions about.
Join us on Sunday if you can or tune in to the podcast through the week.
Have a great week.
Chris
In the many years since then, I’ve found other parts of life that are just like that electric fence. The wire is not visible and the shock feels a bit different but the dynamics are the same: whenever I put my hand past that line I get zapped. These lines a bit trickier, though - like the line between work and rest, or the line between being honest with myself and telling a story, or the line between self control and self indulgence. I’ve been shocked many times, yet it never seems to be enough.
These two ideas collided as I considered something about my journey with God. I was reading a part of Psalms which was detailing a bit of a ‘spin cycle’ in Israel’s history. They would take a few steps away from the life they’d agreed to live with God and get burned. Eventually the ‘burn’ would get bad enough that they’d realize what had happened and take a step back. Then they would heal, a bit of time would pass and their guard would come down and they’d forget. Then they would take a few steps away from the life they’d agreed to live and the cycle starts all over again.
It’s just like that childhood version of my brother and I standing by the rabbit fence endlessly surprised all over again at what it felt like to put our hand on the wire. Shock! Then we’d pull our hand off. A few moments would pass and we’d think, “It wasn’t that bad…”, then Shock! And we’d pull our hand off again…I guess all of this has led to a hunger. So much of my life has been shaped by shock-avoidance as I stand near the fence and try not to get burned. So much of my life has been shaped by taking only as many steps back as is required to shut the shock off. I’m starting to wonder about getting away from the fence all together. What would it feel like to deal with a different set of signals? Instead of “Shock! there’s a problem so step back…”, what about “Surprise! here’s another surge of strength so move ahead!”
There are at least two ways God can make Himself a reality to you. He can be the bite on the other side of a problem or He can be the surge of freedom on the other side of courage. Have you stepped far enough away from the fence that you not only no longer feel the shock but you are starting to encounter the ‘surprise of another kind’? Do you practice only problem avoidance? Or have you started to practice ‘possibility creation’?
I’m dealing less and less every day with shocks and problems. Every day, more and more I’m switching to ‘bread crumbs along a trail of great possibilities’. Try it. You might like it.
Something to consider – and something to ask questions about.
Join us on Sunday if you can or tune in to the podcast through the week.
Have a great week.
Chris
LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
I've always been glad for the chance to have a purpose-based career and after more than 15 years I'm still saying, "I can't believe I get to do this" (on most days anyway). If it's something you may be interested in, drop us a line. We are still building the staff team at Westside and that means we're on the hunt for people of passion and purpose who want to make a difference. I don't want to post job titles and job descriptions because that's always felt backwards (you carve out a cubby hole and then try to jam someone into it). I'd rather start with great people who are interested in serving and then shape a great job around them.
Adventure doesn't keep appointments and "some day" is really just the part of today we hide from. It may just be the case that you need to say, "It's time". It may be for a year or for 5 or you may really be surprised. Either way, we were made to make purpose. We're building a 'dream team' and a 'brain trust' of great leadership at Westside and there are only a few missing pieces left. If a purpose based adventure is something you're interested in, hit reply and let me know. I promise to take it seriously.
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