How long of a pier do you need? If all the fun is at the end of the walkway, do you need a lot or a little of a walkway to get to the good stuff? (In other words, how far do you need to go before you get to the good part?)
We are building a dock in our backyard creek. The dock is about 200 feet out to access the navigable channel. Those in the know understand that this means we walk over mud flats half of the day.
Now, it’s not all bad. It’s fun to see the fishing birds (Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, Cormorants, Canada Geese, Ospreys, Seagulls, Vulture, Bald Eagles and ducks, etc.) tracks in the mud from a session of fishing when tide pools trap minnows and baby crabs.
You can also see clam “piles?” where the birds bring live clams to bash on other shells to open and eat their fresh insides. Of course, we see trash running in and out with the tide. It’s kind of fun to go down to the creek’s edge to pull out the litter and see what you can find. Interesting stuff sometimes. Right now we have an old 32+ gallon trash can on its side beside our older dock pilings.
It’s about 200 steps from shore out to the Party Dock as we call it. When finished, that dock will be where we host guests for a meal, drinks, swimming, jetskiing, floating, fishing or just to chat while watching the sunset or the moon rise. At the very end of the dock is our boathouse.
I started thinking recently about the structure and how it can mirror our lives and navigate our path. Long paths can be fun when you’re on vacation, enjoying a holiday season, spending time with far-flung family and more. We want time to slow, to make this moment last as long as we can. But we all know it will pass and we’ll be left with memories. Photos and videos are a great way to pass the time, but for me, holding a moment in my heart and purposely reflecting and appreciating it for what it is is the best way to hold on to the good times.
But, when you are in a bad life experience, who wants that to last? Let’s get this over with you say. Who would want this to drag out? I propose a way to get through the bad times without trying to cut them short (of course, this depends on the situation). I’ve had bad experiences in my past that I would have cut off in a second, if I could. One in particular lasted for years and still raises its ugly head now and then.
At the time of the event that started that awful season in my life, I wish I had the perspective that I have now in a my more mature self. Trying to tell someone that they will be happy, that the soul-destroying situation in their life will eventually be seen as a time that you appreciate the lesson you learned and the opportunity it gave you to grow within your soul? That’s tough. Are you walking slowly and lingering on the pier of hard times or are you picking up your head and moving forward to get to the good times?
I know some of you are shaking your head and blowing this off at this point. But, hear me out: you’ve probably heard the phrase, iron sharpens iron. Going through life as a happy and clueless soul is not what God has for us. He allows these situations to come into our space even though He doesn’t cause them. I hate it, but they are for my’our good. I was so mad at Him for letting this happen! Because of one minor choice in my life that came to a head with me lying face down on the porcelain floor in our foyer and weeping so hard that it was difficult to stand up among the slippery, dispensed tears below me; I am changed.
Time, persepective and lessons learned later, I can honestly say that I’m glad it happened. Would I want it to happen again? That’s a resounding “NO”! But I am honestly glad that it did.
When you go through a tough life situation in future, think about what you are supposed to learn from it that will mature youninto a stronger/better person. Think about what that lesson taught you that helps you walk with someone else in future. Will you linger on the path or move forward?
Spiritual and mental growth is hard. We don’t grow nearly as much at home alone to avoid others or in the easy times when we are out in the world: in other words, standing still on the pier. We grow most in the hard times. For me, they not only have to come, but they need to. We don’t get through the rest of our lives without the hard stuff…not enrichingly anyway.
Heres to praying for each of you through the hard stuff. If you need individual prayer, leave a request in the comment section of this post. Nothing goes public until I allow it to.
Many blession to all of my readers.
