dailydatewithgod

We tend to walk around with a fixed set of ideas about how things will be. Our brains are conditioned to look for and assimilate the familiar and reject the unfamiliar. When our expectations are not met we find ourselves disappointed, bothered, and maybe even angry or frustrated. We become so comfortable with our illusionary ideas and interpret the unfamiliar as discomfort and call it pain or a problem.  What if it is just growth? Anyone who has grown physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually (in other words anyone alive) will tell you that preceding the growth was a period of discomfort.  We know in our souls that an encounter with unfamiliarity or discomfort is not something to numb, run, or avoid.  It is a gift to be embraced. Convincing our mind of our soul’s perspective is half the battle. Encountering discomfort is tolerated by our minds when it makes sense or has a foreseeable outcome. But we do not always have the reasons. Every day discomforting encounters are usually met with distaste and frustration. Our feelings are not wrong, but they are not the whole story.  On my daily dates with God when I am uncomfortable, God shows me how to stay with myself. She wants me to notice the discomfort and stay long enough to find the gift.  Only after years of this practice has my initial numb or hide response dimmed.  I have experienced enough uncomfortable encounters to trust it is not the whole story.  When I want to numb, hide or run I lean into God for the strength to find myself in the encounter.