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Thursday, August 23, 2012

Thursday's Thoughts: Specifically Vague

Thursday's Thoughts: a taste of what I'm thinking

As I was pondering life yesterday, some specifically vague insights popped into my head.  Wait, stop right there. Specifically vague can happen but how about vaguely specific?  Never mind, we've got better things to ponder.  Like vague things you can apply to specific situations and use to solve all your problems. Or something like that. I'll let you decide.

Appearances can be deceiving, but feelings aren't always accurate indicators either.
Sometimes things aren't as simple (or complex) as they initially seem.

If that's the case, how on earth do we figure out life?

Let's break that question down. Figure out life.  Ha. Do we ever really figure out life?  I don't think so, at least not on this earth.  The phrase, "how on earth?" is a common enough figure of speech, but a more literal interpretation may be the key here. Maybe, but no promises. I'm just thinking out loud here, annnnnd I'm super tired, so who knows where this will go....

Figuring out life is not a task that can be accomplished or finished, but rather a continual process.  I doubt even a lifetime of trial and error leaves one feeling as if they have life figured out.  But I don't know yet, you'll have to ask me later on that one.  Life might be easier if we had it all figured out ahead of time, but it wouldn't be very exciting, would it?

We, here on Earth, have a very limited perspective. The process of figuring things out must be broken down and repeated day to day, problem to problem and moment to moment.  Our brains and bodies can only handle so much, after that it turns to worry. Thankfully, our limited perspective need not turn to worry nor do we have to figure things out on our own.  God has everything figured out and will give us exactly what we need at just the right time. I've seen this principle in action multiple times throughout my life, but considering my lack of sleep the title of this post, I'll leave it at that.

Situations may appear less than ideal but later turn out to be just the right thing.  On the other hand, you may have a great start and a disappointing finish.  (I'm being pretty helpful here, eh? Fortunately for you, I have zero interest in becoming a politician.)  If appearances are deceiving then maybe we should base our decisions on feelings.  Well, that doesn't always work out either. The mind is a tricky thing and emotions are complicated.  I'm not saying appearances and emotions have no value, they just need to be balanced.

If we rush through life we can be deceived by appearances or tricked by initial emotions.  Stepping back to look at a situation often provides insight and understanding.  If you're not careful an easy answer or simple solution can lead to complex problems later on. There are also times where you can over-analyze a situation to death, make it way more complicated than it needs to be, and in the process overlook the solution right in front of you.

So how do we find a balance in the middle? I find it most helpful to break things down day to day and moment to moment.  When I ask, God gives me enough strength and wisdom to handle each situation as it comes.  He won't give me all the answers right now, but he will provide what I need at just the right time.  Appearances and feelings may be deceptive but God never changes.  His word is rock solid truth.  In fact, it would probably be more beneficial for us both if I just stop my tired self right here so we can dwell on that truth rather than my rambling.  Grab a bible and dig deep. If you're at a loss for where to start Proverbs is packed full of wisdom.  If you don't feel like quite as much unpacking try starting in the book of James. It still has a lot of wisdom, but if you're as tired as I am it can be easier to read and more direct.   If you don't have a bible handy, BibleGateway is a great online resource.

Food for Thought: "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." -James 3:17

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