Transitions and Rubber Duckies

My kids were always fascinated that they couldn’t sink their rubber ducky. Regardless of how hard they pushed it to the bottom of the tub or how long they sat on it, the toy resurfaced. It’s the law of the rubber ducky!

This law applies to life transitions. Transitions, like rubber duckies, involve feelings which will surface no matter how hard we try to keep them down! Ignoring what is lost in an effort to move forward sounds good but it isn’t healthy emotionally. We can’t truly embrace the new without saying good-by to what is gone.

Not long ago I failed to grieve some transitions and became overburdened emotionally. Each change seemed small, but they built up, eventually becoming a huge pile of loss. Finally, at a spiritual retreat

Brown Paper Gifts

I appreciate having beautifully decorated Christmas presents. However, I remember a year when my son wrapped his gifts to us in brown package paper, sealed them with duct tape, and wrote our names in marker on the outside. What was inside was great, but I didn’t want him to put the wrapped presents under the tree. (He so enjoyed upsetting traditions and his mom!)

Two thousand years ago God gave the gift of Jesus, but he too came wrapped in brown paper. The Jews expected him to come as their King dressed in royal robes, restoring the Jewish kingdom. Instead, they received a baby born in a shelter for animals, a poor itinerant preacher who died at the hands of the Roman oppressors. They missed the gift, not looking beyond its plain packaging.

 

Sometimes God’s best presents come wrapped in brown paper, but we often prefer those that look good—

Discouragement--the Dream Killer

Sometimes it’s just one of those weeks. You know what I mean—the ones when everything goes wrong and we begin to wonder if we are even supposed to be where we are, doing what we are doing. Life doesn’t go as expected, and we aren’t the people we should be. Maybe it’s time to give up on ministry, to quit trying to love that difficult person, or to ________. (Fill in your situation.)

This week has left me discouraged. Do I give up on the dream to put my leadership material in book form?  I have experienced disappointment on two fronts: my failure to love someone as Christ would and my inability to see much fruit from my time and efforts. I feel like God could better use someone else—someone who doesn’t hurt others, someone with name recognition.