Today has been one of the busiest days for me, speaking at an event, preparing for birthdays, fixing, helping, driving, cooking. The last thing I felt like doing was writing. This 31 day journey is a commitment I made and sometimes to follow through on the promises we make, is extremely important even when we are “fried!”
Often it’s in these very moments of extension, that our hearts and capacities are stretched. We are not designed to live in this red zone, but we are designed to reach, learn and give a little more than we think we can. It’s like our souls have an elasticity, that is strengthened in the stretch. We do need to allow ourselves to reform again, but without the stretch, we stay unfulfilled in our purpose. I believe these are the very days that define us.
Those days when we think we cannot run another five minutes but we do.
Those days when we speak in front of a crowd that once completely intimidated us.
Those days when we start writing that book that has laid dormant inside of us.
Our days of stretch.
Proverbs 31: 20 says this;
“She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy”
I absolutely love this verse. I love that it is an effort for her to make a difference and she extends her heart and hand in the process.
There are some of my other favourite scriptures that are not from proverbs but they inspire me none the less
Psalm 18:19
“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”
And also this one;
Isaiah 54:2
“Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.”
There is something about these two encouragements from days of old, that encourage me to not give up in the days when things are difficult.
Just a few days ago I read this poem and it literally stopped me in met tracks;
“Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.Francis Drake
Disturb us O Lord. How profound is this perspective?
One of the greatest thing that inhibits us living a life of purpose, is we seek comfort. We want to feel comfortable, we look for nurture, we seek to hide.
Even though in the right time and the right way all of these things can be an important part of self care and soul health, we will never live a life of purpose if we allow these things to define us.
There is something very valid in having intentional moments of stretch. When we do something we have never done before, when we give to something that is a stretch financially and personally. When we talk to someone and it takes effort. When we sacrifice and say no.
Growth and change are not comfortable.
Living a life of wisdom where we learn in that space of extension is the most defining of spaces.
When was the last time you felt uncomfortable?
When was the last time you did something that made you nervous?
When was the last time you felt growth pains?
This my friend is what it looks like to live a life of wisdom.
Tomorrows post is here: She is ever learning
