Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Monday Morning Blues {on Tuesday}

Let me just say, jet lag is a real thing. We took the red eye from LAX and got into Memphis around 7:15 am {Monday morning}.
 I am SO glad to be home!

It is always inevitable that when I travel I get tired and when I get tired I tend to revert back to a three year old. I know it is horrible, but it's true! I'm all about adventure but lack of sleep leads to tears and frustration and just plain ole moodiness. Times like this always teach me something about myself - things I need to change and things that make me, me! 

{and now it's Tuesday morning, ehh afternoon and I still have not posted this} I slept through an hour of class yesterday before making the mad dash to campus for the rest of the lecture and a quiz. Yes, it is starting out as one of those weeks. This post will probably just as scatterbrained as I have been in the past 48 hours {so sorry}!

BUT back to what I was saying about learning things about myself - traveling is one of the ways that God shows me just how little I am. Growing up in the South, it is easy to forget that walking the path of Christ-centered living is not easy. For me, it is much easier to pray in a restaurant or openly discuss my faith when I know that someone else in the room is probably a believer & most of the people have probably  been to church. But when I leave the South, my little bubble is no longer there and the real world steps into play. It is so much harder for me to be bold when I wonder if I am the only person in ten city blocks that has a heart for Jesus, when the darkness is so evident and God must truly be sought after. 

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden."

 It is in these moments that God shows up big - He reminds me that we are the light  and he has placed us in the world to shine.
 During a hike we took through Muir woods this weekend, mom and I saw so many situations that were completely shocking to me - families shouting at one another, children completely ignoring the instruction of a nearby parent and many other things that made me want to run back to the car and speed away. This path has one long trail with three cut-offs that would lead you to the other side of the loop and therefore a shorter hike. We decided to take the full loop {the longest trail}. As we walked, more and more people would take each cut-off and the trail began the grow quiet. We had the chance to talk about faith & life - what a treat!   

Mom made a statement that was just so true - the trail resembles a life in Christ. At the beginning, there are many people milling about, making noise and enjoying life. At each cut across, more people would make their way across a bridge as the longer trail continued straight ahead. They wanted to see the beautiful redwoods and once they did, they were off to the next sight {leaving the trail behind}. The longest trail was steeper, harder to climb but in the end it was incredibly rewarding.

 In this life, few people will take the longer, less-traveled path. Some get distracted at the beginning and are led across the bridge with the masses of people. Others continue on but are not willing to make the climb during the difficult parts of life. 

And then, there are those that cling to God. These are the men and women of faith that I long to be like. With God as an ultimate role-model, we can seek Him during the good and bad - He will not lead us astray and He is always on the trail beside us. Simple comparisons are sometimes the best way for me to find out where I am and where I want to be - learning more about who I am in Christ and how much more I can grow every single day.


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