Kelly has an adorable brown bear named Teddy that we bought for her when I was still pregnant. It is the cutest little bear and it has been well loved during the past 6 years. Kelly sleeps with this bear almost every night and he goes a lot of places with us. He even went to school with us this morning and almost went into the school as Kelly tried to sneak him into her backpack. In the end, he came back home with me. I thought about this for a little bit as he rode home in the front seat beside me. Kelly loves to take this bear everywhere she goes because he brings comfort to her. When things are uncomfortable, she holds on to Teddy with a firm grip. It's an extra assurance that everything is ok.
Even as adults we hold onto things that provide us comfort. It could be an old sweatshirt (I have a sorority sweatshirt that I can't give up because it is so comfortable), a certain chair, or even a worn-out pair of shoes. We even hold on to dreams, goals, and traditions because knowing that such things exist will bring us extra comfort. Sometimes we refuse to let go even when we know we really need to.
But when it really comes down to it, God didn't create us to live in comfort. If you are feeling that you are comfortable with God, with how you worship, with your growth in Him, I highly encourage you to reconsider your pace of walk with God. It could be that He is a little farther down the road than you waiting to take you into something new while you hold on to your comfortable surroundings. God wants to continue molding us and shaping us into the person He ultimately designed us to be. And, yes, it will hurt and be uncomfortable. He will chip away at us like a master sculptor. But the beauty of the pain is knowing that through time we will continue to look more and more like Him... getting closer to living in the complete joy of being His.
The next time you find yourself thinking about how comfortable life really is right now, look around at where God is working. And then get yourself there! God didn't create the fullness of life to leave us behind. He created the fullness of our lives to make us His.
No comments:
Post a Comment