Top3 for June 14, 2024
Before you head off into your weekend, here are three things that I have read and been thinking about this week. Hope they are as helpful and challenging for you as they have been for me.
Have a great weekend!
#1
They taught me that maturity was the ability to live with unresolved problems. Stitches by Anne Lamott
Unresolved problems offer opportunities for growth in maturity. As much as I prefer smooth sailing, the greatest growth in my life has come as a result of some issue that lingered much longer than I thought it would and much longer than I thought I had the strength to persevere. It is our maturity that sits near the top of God’s priority list…not our comfort.
#2
When in contemplation we come to see all of life as a gift, we then recognize the people in our lives as the greatest gifts of God. – Spiritual Formation by Henri J.M. Nouwen
The moment we begin to see other people as gifts to receive and not means for our personal end is the moment we are can be trusted with the important stuff of life. We can be true friends, neighbors, spouses, leaders, etc. Until then we are master manipulators at best.
#3
AGNOSTHESIA
n. the state of not knowing how you really feel about something, which forces you to sift through clues hidden in your own behavior, as if you were some other person — noticing a twist of acid in your voice, an obscene amount of effort you put into something trifling, or an inexplicable weight on your shoulders that makes it difficult to get out of bed. – The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig
If you can get past the book title there are some real gems in it. This word entry hit me squarely…
I have learned in the past few years that I am a verbal processor. I often don’t know what I think until it comes out of my mouth. That may sound strange. Be thankful if that is not you! What this means is that I often must go back and apologize for changing my “mind” about something. It often takes me several conversations and many days/weeks/months before it becomes clear to me. As a result I may go through several iterations of what I think before settling on it. How do I become settled? It just feels right. I rarely think my way into a decision (again…frightening!), but rather I verbally process until my feelings say “yes!”
Let me say…God wires us all differently and is quite capable of using us just the way we are. Even if we don’t know what we think until it comes out of our mouth.
Pray for those in my life who are just now realizing that I am just now finding out what they’ve known for decades about me!
todd nelson 