Struggles

Struggles- they are REAL

It’s interesting… I initially made the decision to develop a blog with a specific goal in mind and I looked over the current set of entries there is a bit of a disconnect.  However, like most individuals the “new year, new you” energy surge caught me in its grasp.  As I entered into the next week, I ran into a few more noteworthy struggles; most often at home and at work which prompted this whole reflection.  

Interestingly, I attended a mid-week church service with fusionATL .  I thought his first sermon of the new year would be enlightening and perhaps start another series focused on “temptations of sex” or “secrets” or “sacrifice”- but this particular service was not a series at all but rather a single service with a most powerful message.  

The sermon- titled” Why not 1000” introduced ideal related to being a Christian, having faith, and being obedient.

This isn’t a blog with a focus on God or spiritually, so what does this have to do with my reflecting and getting back to the overall focus of” the struggle is real.”  Although this message seems direct there was portion of the sermon that related to individuals struggles which resonated with me and helped me to regain focus of this blog.  

My current and most prevalent struggles are stillness, silence, and stagnation.    What do these things have in common (other the obvious- that they all start with an “S”)? They are a struggle in every aspect of my life- from work to home-life overall and individual growth.  For me stillness is best summed up in the saying “Let your heart be still”.  In this statement the idea translates to stopping or pausing your emotions and staying on course with the first plan developed, refusing to scramble and make new plans or adjustments jaded and overcome by emotions in the moment.  

Stillness is much related to stagnation; and to sum up stagnation- I adopted the following quote in college “even cats don’t prefer stale (stagnant) water”.  No disrespect, but if cats do not want stale (and stagnate) water then who is going to want a stagnant employee, friends, lover, etc?!  As I grew up this quote often propelled me to go the extra mile to reach out to others and continually try to better myself in one respect or another.  Oddly, enough- a good friend of mind recently shared her thoughts with me and she noted the following: All movement is not progress.  Lack of movement does not necessarily mean stagnation.  Learn to grow where you are and enjoy your current situation until God sees fit to move/ elevate you. HIS plan is perfect.

Lastly, shhhhh- silence.  The silence I’m referencing here is silence of the mind; stopping or slowing all of one’s thoughts.  This is not silence like the moments before you go to sleep, rather the moments of prayer or spiritual focus.  It is these moments where time, to me, seems everlasting and slowly passes.  In a world of instant gratification and a bunch of rushing and hurrying- it is no wonder why silence is golden, no matter how hard it is for me to achieve it.

What are your struggles?  I have shared mine with others and will continue to strive to overcome them…I’ll keep you posted because we all know- the struggle is real!