SonLight

July 15, 2010

"If you keep doing what you've been doing, you're gonna keep getting what you've been getting." I'm not sure who gets the credit for this quote, but, it is one of my favorites.

So, at different times in life, we all get into a "rut". Sometimes, it's a shallow rut and we can climb out of it pretty easily once the "rain" stops. But, sometimes, we don't notice that we've fallen into it until it's so deep that we spend all of our energy "peeling out" trying to climb out of it in the same spot and we just dig ourselves deeper and deeper and deeper. What we need to do at this point, is move. Go to a different spot. Scan the "landscape" for an opportunity to use maybe a rock or a stick to lift us up high enough to be able to climb out.

We get so busy with the day to day of our lives, that sometimes we forget to live. Especially if you have children. There is always food that has to be prepared, dishes that have to be cleaned, floors that have to be swept, toilets have to get scrubbed, dust accumulates everywhere, laundry is never ending, bills have to be paid, kids need attention, then there are dance classes and baseball games, groceries don't buy themselves... the list goes on and on. Before you know it, you have forgotten to take care of the caretaker! You get to a point in your life where you go to bed and you are dog tired and you still feel unaccomplished.

I remember years ago, before I had kids, I got to this very dark place in my life. I was so deep in a "rut" that the sunlight wouldn't even reach me! I was "peeling out" trying to escape and I was only sinking deeper and deeper in the mud. It got to a point where I couldn't even pray anymore. I knew that I had to do something different. I knew that what I was doing was not working, so, I made a list. I wrote down every little teeny tiny thing that I thought would make me happier- I wanted to clean my closet, steam clean my carpets, change my hairstyle, get new clothes, make an overdue apology, rekindle an old friendship, go on a date with my husband. Everyone's list looks different. But the point is, don't just sit in the mud "peeling out". You are not making any progress. Do something different. Did buying a new outfit change my life? Well, it's more complicated and more simple than that. It was me, doing something different, weeding out all the "junk" that was keeping me from seeing the bigger picture. It was removing the obstacles that were in my way so that I could finally get a foothold and climb out of a sunless rut and make my way into the "SonLight".

"Lord, you have brought light to my life; my God, you light up my darkness." Psalm 18:28

"The Lord is my light and my salvation- so why should I be afraid? The Lord protects me from danger- so why should I tremble?" Psalm 27:1