This morning as I worked on my 5k training I ran to the beat of the late 80's, early 90's. I've found these to be the most motivating rhythms when I'm tempted to quit. As memories associated with each lyric quickly surfaced, I found myself pondering the differences between what I believed to be true at 25 juxtaposed against what I now consider "lessons learned".
At 25, everything was still pretty back and white. I clung to my beliefs in my tightly clinched fist, not providing room to change, to grow, to explore the ever present nuances that come with being human. If you were to ask me then to name five things that I
knew believed to be true, I'm pretty certain most would not be on my list today. I was, at the time, pretty confident in the following:
- Justice-above all else
- Somewhere out there, there must exist a "no matter what" kind of love
- Punishment=Discipline
- Weakness is unacceptable
- I must be heard
Things have shifted
in the last 20 years since then. Life has shown me the cracks in my armor of self-righteous pronouncements. I've watched things I held to be true prove to be worthless, even harmful, to myself and to those around me. I was thinking today how I would answer the same question now. I would say, with tremulous certainty, that I believe:
- GRACE above all else
- The most life-giving words that can be said to a broken person are "I believe in you."
- My weakness forces me into dependence on God
- Some scars will never heal (at least not in this lifetime) but they are almost always a catalyst for growth
- There IS a "no matter what" kind of love out there... As humans we only get a taste of what it can be
What about you? What "truths" have changed for you? I'm genuinely curious! Comment below!
