Getting Over Writer's Block

Oh, my. I cannot believe this. I am in complete shock. Yes, I am STILL in shock!! YOU GUYS, I have 6,000 views for this blog!!!! Can YOU even believe that?? Because I just cannot... STILL.

However, I feel like it is unfair of me to begin that way.. because, above all, I owe you an apology. I am sincerely sorry that it has been just way too long since I last wrote my thoughts down. If it makes you feel any better, I haven't written my thoughts down anywhere... so don't you start thinking that I have filled Mr. Journal in and abandoned Miss Blog.. that is simply not the case. But, my dear readers, life has just been so crazy and I really didn't know what exactly I should, could or would write on this loverly blog. I am still at a loss and a blank. Writer's block, I hear is what it's called. And if that's what it is, I've got one heck of a case...

But, I figure, what better way to overcome this blockage than write through it. Maybe it will help or maybe I'll just write a bunch of useless words- either way, this blog is desperate for something! So! Here we go *deep breath*

A couple weeks back, I grabbed some coffee with an old, long-lost friend of mine... You see, she had moved to Virginia and, indubitably, distance becomes a difficult thing to stay on top of. So, as I was driving through her town, I spontaneously called her to see if she'd be up for a latte. Lucky me, she agreed. I was honestly excited to see her and hear what was going on with her- I knew she'd lift my spirits but I was in no way prepared for the encouragement I received. So, here we are 10 o'clock...and I know there is a daunting three hour ride home... but we sit down and she begins to talk. Now this sweet friend of mine has a lot of words, ever since I've known her this has been the case- but unlike anyone else, it seems that every word to exit her mouth has meaning. well thought-out meaning. My hour and a half coffee meet up was the most refreshing escape from empty words... and let me tell you, she said the exact sentence that I head been trying to formulate in my mind for the 3 months of absence  I've taken from this blog!!

She said, talking about a situation in her own life, "And I was just thinking, is it really the person that I love or is it the relationship that I have with that person?" The moment those words entered the atmosphere, I let out a "hooray!" inside the depths of my heart... because that was exactly what I needed to process.

You know, as I grow, I see how change is one of life's greatest guarantees. With that guarantee however, we have two decisions to choose from: to accept and admire change or to live in a dismal mood of  yesteryear. The latter is definitely a decision that many take up. Their disgust for change is so extreme that they would rather live in the past- which, if you are not already aware, is completely an impossible feat. When someone lives in the past, it is a nice way to say that they are only choosing to live in a hazy life of denial. Denial at its very core is a condescending word and, let's be honest, it doesn't really breed nice people. So, the question remains, why would people choose to deny change rather than accept it? (just an FYI, attitudes that frequently tag along to denial are bitterness and anger- both said to make a person age more quickly..) I think that the answer is quite simple: fear.

But, I am not writing to discuss why people don't like change- I want to write about change itself. It offers so many beautiful things. When people accept change albeit a change in relationship, job, church, state, ect... it offers them an amassment of characteristics. Change has a way of bringing you on a fresh, new roller-coaster with a myriad of new enchantments... through this roller-coaster, you are offered new glasses to put on, to see things with a new perspective. When you become distant from the person you used to be so close to, it's okay for that to hurt- but it's not okay for it to glue your feet down, to keep you moving along the pathway of life... instead, take some time to gather yourself, look at the situation a little farther out than just two centimeters close and decide a plan of action; this plan should mostly consist of acceptance.

I can count, using both my hands, the number of relationships that have changed over just this past year... some of the changes have been excruciating and some of them have been beautiful and delightful. As I've been discussing these changes with the Lord and as he has used his living Word to breathe life into me, I have seen that mere acceptance of the changes in my life is not enough, it's the surrender that Jesus is looking for. He desires that I let go of my ever-longing for control and release my life to his powerful hands. Surrender always seems like such a passive word, doesn't it? ...oh, but it isn't. It's very active- it's a chant, a victory chant. It's an overcoming of flesh and an action to become more like Christ.

So, back to the original thought- is it the relationship I love or the person? I was challenged with that question when relationships began to transform. Day by day, I am learning to love others the way Christ loves me- my soul dependence on any relationship, that is not Jesus, is not complete surrender.


As Always, Anna