Are we really living if we are only doing the bare minimum?


Hey everyone,

I hope you've been having a good Easter weekend. As I grow older, the meaning of Easter only continues to develop in my eyes. This year, I'm filled with such a great peace as I am reminded that although Friday saw the death of Jesus, Sunday was only a few days away. And although in the midst of our struggles it can be hard to believe that there is something goood coming, that is exactly what Easter teaches us and reminds us.

This weekend, I decided to put myself out of my comfort zone and begin making some new friendships. With all of my past drama and experiences within friendships, I tend to keep to myself and wait to be approached (which is all shades of problematic on its own). But I've been learning recently, that it is really easy to allow what once protected us to become what holds us back. My observational spirit and caution may have protected me from avoidable hurt at one point in my life, but I think at some point, it also became a shield for me, blocking out that hurt but also blocking out potentially meaningful relationships. The tough thing is that every relationship that means something will not be free from disagreement or some sort of tension at some point. So if I'm so busy running away from everything that looks remotely complicated, how will I ever find those maningful relationships?

It's hard. I don't want to be that person that ignores important red flags because I want to 'stick it out' and see where that relationship can go. But I also don't want to be the person that runs away every time things get serious. Where's the middle ground? I'm still learning. But one thing I know for sure, is that I will never figure it out by not trying. The fear of getting hurt and rejected is so very real and I can testify to the huge power and influence that has had on so many of my life decisions. But are we really living if we are only doing the bare minimum? Where we're outgoing enough to be noticed but not enough to be held responsible for anything, daring enough to seem cool but not enough to put out hearts in meaningful conversations or relationships, kind enough to seem kind to the world but not enough to every really inconvenience ourselves, real enough to have an opinion on everything but not enough to tell the people you love the truth when it really matters. And all because of fear. A lot of the way I present myself is based on how I feel people already see me and a lack of desire to mess up and fall short. But those are chains of their own. And that's the sad reality. Jesus set us free, but we stay in these cages even though the doors are unlocked because it's the reality we've become used to. Almost like we're scared to accept that there could be another way....

God bless you.

Dera

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