Get out of That Comfort Zone!
My father’s notebooks contained a saying, “The only difference between a grave and a rut is their length.”
I used to have a wonderful rut. My life in California was good. For more than two decades Kim and I lived the American dream. But it became an encompassing comfort zone that etherized my soul.
I miss California, the ocean, the mountains, the desert, the endless things to do and places to go. I miss my friends, church members, colleagues, students, and loved ones. People in California asked why on earth I would go to Louisiana, and people here ask why on earth I came. Sometimes I stop and ask myself, What am I doing here?
But God has a purpose in the kind of life and ministry he is calling me to pursue. With so much I miss, I’ve come to believe that God intends to strip those things away from me so that I can focus and enter into a deeper life in Christ and a more Spirit-led ministry than I would have been able to do surrounded by such a full and enjoyable and busy life as I had in Los Angeles. Not that life here is bad, it’s fine for the most part, and I love Southerners, but my life is certainly stripped way down—which is what I know I need to focus and enter a new phase of life.
I’m 59, and neither Kim nor I even get paid to do anything here; we’re restarting a ministry from the ground up. That may not sound attractive to some, but I get to essentially start my life over—a great opportunity.
Is God calling you any particular way in your life? Something to change, release, or pursue? No matter where you’re at in life, God has still more for you. And it’s good.
If anything I’ve said makes sense to you in your own life, I encourage you to pursue it. Don’t fear, and don’t wallow in a comfort zone. Blessings on you as you say yes to God’s challenges and go beyond your present boundaries.
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photo credit: Cure.org
I think it’s very interesting that God has put you where He has. A new life with new experiences for the “best years.” Not sure if you remember me, but I was in one of your NBC classes. I was at my wit’s end trying to write my first exegetical paper, and you encouraged me so much. You challenged my perfectionism and told me I needed to “fail gloriously” at something. Well, I guess you could say I failed gloriously at getting divorced! I believed my marriage was over, completely beyond healing. Well, God has been very busy in my life in the last few years. Through a process of stripping me down to bare bones, ridding me of pride and arrogance, God began to show me who I really was–the bitterness and brokenness that I had buried deep within were eating me up. God showed me that I needed to heal my marriage and accept my husband with all of his imperfections–and that I had a distorted view of who he was because of my own woundedness from childhood. Meanwhile he was working through his own wounds, and he is a different person. God heals. Today we are remarried (since Nov. 2016), we are pastoring a new church, and starting an independent ministry for couples who struggle in marriage. I read your blog and am always inspired. I am intrigued that you are starting a new life and have no doubt God is going to use you to touch people who wouldn’t ever expect God to come to them through someone so “cool.” Blessings and prayers for you and Kim!
Janet,
You bless me. I am thrilled to read this. Thank you for sharing.