Do you ever stay in your comfort zone?
I do.
I've seen this in myself in many ways and the other night I clearly saw it when Matt and I were skiing.
On the way to the mountain I had mentioned how I am comfortable on green and blue trails now. At the end of the night Matt said, "Mom, it's time you try your first black diamond. You said it yourself on the way here, you are comfortable on those trails and you don't challenge yourself."
Sometimes when truth speaks to us it's the last thing we want to listen to but it is what we really need to hear.
Also, I have been inspired by Matt. In a few ski seasons, I saw him start on the bunny hill and end up on a double black diamond. He showed me that growth is possible when we continuously challenge ourselves. Yet was I willing to grow myself?
There were a lot of excuses I could have used to try and get out of this opportunity, such as I could get hurt, but I'm trying to move away from living behind my - keep things safe - excuses. So with Matt's guidance, he carefully lead me down my first black diamond.
And then we did it again because it was so much fun!
I am sharing this with you in case you can relate and also find yourself living behind excuses and not allowing yourself to step out of your comfort zone at times to see what we are really capable of, like I have been.
If you can relate, I invite you to join me to...
pause. breathe. pray.™
We know that growth comes from stepping outside our comfort zones, from putting off the old self and moving into something new. Yet the distance between knowing this truth and living it our may be miles apart. May we pray that wherever God needs us to step out of our old, comfortable ways that we are willing to do it. And let's ask God to equips us with whatever we need to step into our new self. May we be willing to lay down our excuses and live a Spirit lead life. When we choose to live this way, we will naturally be tempted to revert back to our old, safe ways. To avoid this, may we trust God wholeheartedly that He is with us and will lead us well. Also, may we trust that God will even provide others who will come beside us on our new journey; like Matt did to guide me down the mountain the other night.
With love and hope,
Shawn
"to put off your old self, which belongs to your
former manner of life...and to be renewed in the spirit
of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after
the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
- Ephesians 4:22-24