Start on one side of the street and the artist seems like he's cock-eyed and out of his mind, but take a few steps around the corner and you get to see a masterpiece. This shift in perspective can spell out whether or not you get to see a beautiful piece of artwork, or just a waste of paint, chalk and time. If you've been reading my writing, you probably already know where I'm going with this. As 20-something year old's, I think we're already aware that we have very little influence on how the storm can roll through our lives, yet we do have the choice to dance in the rain.
Let's be honest though, for most, learning how to be one way after being another way for so long is an arduous task. It requires steady diligence, sight of goal and an uncompromised strength to achieve... or so we think. I invite you to entertain the thought about the what if. What if it were easy to change? What if it were easy to just wake up one morning and say, "You know what, today I won't hate Mondays". Then think about the "what-if"...what if it weren't so hard to actually know that "what if", doesn't really have to be a "what if".
Matthew 18:2-6 describes how we need to become like children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Having spent my entire life thinking I was growing in 'wisdom', I've realized that with this 'wisdom' comes hard rules and restrictions, mostly created out of the fear of what is to come if and when they are broken. No, you have to act this way because you're a man or No, I don't deserve to be loved - it all boils down to fear. Fear that if I act a certain way, others will judge me and perceive me a certain way, fear that if I let my walls down and let someone in, I'll just get hurt again. Tough stuff to ingest, I admit, but as I grow as a man, I realize that there are things that should be left in the care of a child.
How easy is it for a child to hug another? How easy is it for a child to smile at the small things and not let a drab morning affect their day? How easy is it for a child to trust that those around them will love them as they should?
What if we could trust like a child, but to trust with the understanding that there is evil in the world and to trust anyway. Then take away the "what if". Let's trust anyway, let's love anyway, let's act without fear of being judged, anyway. How awesome would life be if we could just do this.. and what if we actually did? I won't sit here and tell you that it's easy, or that you won't make mistakes along the way, (Lord knows I have and will) but in order to improve our own qualities of life, we need to see the silver lining in all things, change our thoughts from the glass being half empty to the glass being half full to wow, that's a nice glass I've got.
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