Stuck!

Sometimes I feel like we are all stuck. Stuck in a place that never sees change. We all want to change, we all want to have something new and better, but we get stuck. Three situations come to mind...

First, when we are in high school and college we have this idea of what our lives will look like when we are twenty something (I don't think we ever look to our thirties because that is just "not going to happen" in our minds). We idealize what we want to have happen in our lives. We want to have a career that we've worked towards. We want to get married and have a family, we want to have a house and decorate and take care of it. We want to go on trips and travel the world. We want to have a good time in everything that we do - most of us want some sort of adventure. Then... we get stuck. We think of all these things and somewhat work towards them, but do we REALLY try as hard as we can to obtain them? Do we really go on trips? Do we have the perfect little family WHEN we want? Do we pick the career that will excite us, or by the end of college do we pick the one that we started with or feel comfortable with? I think the key is to look at each day/week/month/year and think, "Am I doing what I love and dreamed of?" In my humble opinion, if you have accomplished half of what you dreamed, then you are doing pretty good. And if you have only accomplished half, then let God lead you to the rest - life's not over yet!

We also get stuck in "glass cage of emotions!" Meaning, we feel what we feel and its hard for us to shake. Over the years, I have learned that I am a competitive person. It is strange and it sounds terrible, but I don't always want things for the right reason. I want to be the first, the best and sometimes the only one that is going through something. For instance, in teaching, if I hear a student say that they LOVE another teacher that teaches the same thing as me, then I get competitive and try to make my classroom the best. With friendships we want to have a group of friends that are fun and have a good time, and when we don't have that, we try for better. We leave the group we were with and try to make new friends that show off that we are fun and have a good time. But the truth is, the competitiveness that I feel - its jealousy. Its coveting. Its changing who we are to fit something or someone else. When this happens, feelings get sacrificed. People get hurt. Most times it is not intentional, but it happens. So my advice - check to see if your image is that of Christ's and then love who he made you to be. If that means you are competitive, then use it to become the best person God designed you to be. Use it be the best at loving everyone. Use it to be the best at forgiving and forgetting so that you can enjoy every moment.

Finally, I think we get stuck as to what to do next. Do we move forward and let go? Do we take a nap instead of doing paperwork? Do we purchase that item or should we continue to save? Do we change what our life path is to be something radically different? The crazy thing is that there is not a single answer that fits. The key is prayer. If you pray about things and then feel like that is still the way to go - then go. If you pray about it and something is still not right, then wait. If you know that you are a lazy procrastinator, then do paperwork despite the desire to avoid it. Be in prayer so that you feel like you know what your life is and where it is going, and what you are doing is in check. With that, what could go wrong?

The intent of this blog originally started out as a frustration with another person in how they act. But through writing this, I am realizing that what I have - in Christ - my life, my family, my husband, my job, my emotions, my happiness, are what I have. Not what this other person has. I know that my life in Christ is going down the right path. That is all I need. I am not stuck. I am free in the Spirit and where it leads me. So get unstuck today! I don't think anyone reads this, but just try it! Get unstuck in something you feel is holding you back.

There is my fifteen cents worth (it was a little more than just two!)... Happy New Year!