Something Beautiful

I think that over the years I have been influenced by the culture I live in and the experiences I have had to be predisposed to think that personal brokenness is somehow a curse rather than a blessing. Society celebrates the people who seem to have it all together and criticizes the ones who don't.  And this isn't even a recent phenomenon. Job's friends celebrated his life when everything was going well, but turned on him when life became bad. "There must be something wrong because you are experiencing brokenness," is the message that they spoke. And is that message any different today?  Too often I find myself buying into the lie that brokenness means there is something wrong with me or in me. Yes, I do believe that brokenness can be a sign that something is wrong. But more often I think it is about something else entirely. Stay with me here because I think this will all make sense in the end. When I was on vacation I had the opportunity to go ...

Last Wednesday I left behind the polar vortex and headed for warmer, sunnier skies. Deciding to take my vacation in the middle of winter, definitely one of my smarter decisions. Vacation does something to me beyond the usual break from every day life. As Mark Batterson writes: "Change of pace + Change of place = Change of perspective"  To go somewhere new. To meet new people and experience new things. It's just what the doctor ordered. I not only get a chance to rest, but I get a chance to see more clearly. To re-envision my life, to see it through new eyes. Vacation gives me time to tap into the things I usually ignore, to get into my creative mind for an extended period of time. It gives me a chance to fully embrace the things of my heart, both good and bad.  I love having a chance to read and write and have long conversations. I love having time to think deeply and being uninterrupted in that thinking.  Tomorrow I will get on a plane and head back to winter with sun on...