Treasures & Transformation

Change is not something I embrace, to say the least. It's been traced all the way back to me in the womb, as I was two weeks overdue. I mean, really, who naturally wants to leave the comfort and warmth of familiarity? So this way of being has carried through most of my entire existence. When changes come, I hold on for dear life. (I'm sure you'll see this echoed in blogs to come.) And while change isn't what I gravitate towards, I've learned that there are times when I just can't help but move. Why? Well, simply put. Because of God. He guides me... and while it's still tough, it gets easier as I come to grips with the fact that my life, in fact, is not my own. You know what else? Just because we move on from something, doesn't mean that what we left was necessarily a bad thing. It simply means it's time to move on to something different. Holding onto something that needs to be released is kind of like holding onto a banana. It's great at first and serves a purpose... but after a while, it gets rotten.

I wrote the following a year and ten days ago... and little did I know, the next year of life would prove, yet again, that this is truth! I thought it would be appropriate to re-publish it (and then some) on this newly formed bloggeroony.

One Man's Treasure, Another Man's Trash

One man's treasure, another man's trash-- I know, what a negative thing to say! But it's really it's not all that pessimistic, instead it's a matter of pride & perspective. 

Sometimes we cling to things that are kind of worthless. We pull a "Smeagol"... walking around and guarding our own little "precious" and all the while destroying ourselves. Then reality hits. Yes, the God-send of a person (or people) we have in our lives who is not afraid to let us know that our jewel is actually a cigarette butt. 

We hoard things... things that are actually quite useless. I might see a person, possession or situation through the prettiest of all  lenses. In reality, I have no business holding on to even the thought of it. I see a hotdog covered in relish & all the fixings. Blinded by my desperation for something... ANYTHING... I think it's the best thing for me when really there's a fabulous rib eye just beyond that silly little wienie. Why am I holding onto something that has no real value for my life?

OR!! What about this? One man's treasure is another man's treasure. "Whoa!", right? But I should say it more like "one man's "treasure", another man's TREASURE". We all live different lives and because we're human, nothing's perfect. A lot of times we think we've got things figured out only to have our world rocked. Can I get a witness?

We hold onto things that do not belong to us. Sometimes we live vicariously through someone else... whether it's realized or not. Holding onto the thought of something affects everything about us. The moment we look at another and wish their circumstances were ours, we've made their treasure our faux treasure. Do you see the problem? It's not ours! Or perhaps at a point in time, these things used to be our own. I wish I knew why things come and go... good things! God only knows the reason why people and circumstances ever enter the picture of our lives, and we have to be okay with not ever knowing the answer to the ever-haunting "why".

Every plan I made for me is gone in light of Him... Holding tightly onto these things, its worth now fades when I see all that He does. I've had enough of me; I give up. I want this to be my mindset. Giving up control is the first step. Change is something that will happen... voluntarily or not. How we react and proceed will determine the rest. I want to embrace the changes God brings my way and run in such a way that makes Him glow. 

Living in the treasures of yesterday will do us no favors. We've got to move ahead. I've got to move. And as we take those steps towards change, we'll be transformed into something even more beautiful. 

It's hard, but I believe totally possible.