Discouragement and then some Dislodging

So, for a while I'd had this blog idea brewing in my head. It had to do with all of the discouragements that encompass my life at this time---mine, as well as, those of others who surround me. However, before I got a chance to indulge myself in such a pity fiesta, God began to convict me through an array of people and situations. Pretty much what it comes down to is that I'm having to learn to dislodge myself from the center position in my life. /Dislodge: remove from an established or fixed position/ It seems so easy to think, 'Duh- when your whole world revolves around you, things are going to be discouraging at best, because the rest of the world is ignorant to the fact that they should be orbiting around you.' But it's also amazing how easy it is to slip into that mindset and then start putting down some roots there. Thus, the need for such a dislodging in my own life. When we look to ourselves as the center of our lives, all we see is what's wrong and why we're not happy. But in removing myself from that position, my focus is no longer on what I do or don't have. And in putting Jesus in that rightful position, that incredible obsession with self begins to dissolve, because the focus has changed. I think "dislodging" is also a good term for it because it implies just the right amount of force in having to uproot what was being established in order to replant in an appropriate place. It's amazing when your focus goes from serving yourself to how you can serve others how many of the things you formerly thought of as problems tend to fade from view. As with so many other things, it's easier said than done. But having left it unsaid or unacknowledged would seem to make the 'doing' process nowhere even close to easy. So, with the saying said, the doing has begun to be done. Not by my strength, but in my surrender. Thanks for your continued prayers and support! =)




This is a picture of me on a visa renewal trip to Panama being not in the center. Uncentered, if you will. ; )