With the ushering in of the New Year and the recent Inauguration of
President Obama, we see how most of us get very excited with the
opportunity of experiencing something new. A start-over, or new look
with different eyes. If you, like me, are tired of dealing with the
same old thing over and over, maybe it is time for us to try something
new.
We all have little frustrations and difficulties that tend to just ruin
our day when they really shouldn’t have that kind of power. Why do we
allow the anger, hurt or other nonproductive responses to control so
much of our lives? I know I can get wrapped around the axle whenever I
feel something is unfairly done to another person or to me. As often
happens, I came across a story years ago that has helped me in this
area and I wanted to share it with you to address this issue.
Year after year, an old farmer planted and plowed around a large
rock in his field. His experience with rocks over time had taught him
it would be a most difficult obstacle to remove. Even after breaking
several plowshares and a cultivator against the stone, he continued to
work around it. He grew rather accustomed to this enemy in the field.
And, then, one day he lost another plowshare to the rock. Remembering
all the problems it had caused him through the years, he finally
decided to take action. Putting a crowbar under the stone, he
discovered to his surprise that the “foreboding rock” was only a few
inches thick and could easily be broken with a sledgehammer. Hauling
the crushed pieces away, he smiled sadly as he reflected on all the
trouble the rock had given him and how he could have gotten rid of it
years ago. His life’s labor was much easier now that the rock had been
removed.
Life for you and me can also be so much easier when we remove the rocks
of our pride, the stones of our anger and resentments, and the boulders
of our bitterness from pains, hurts and frustrations. If we refuse to
supplant many of our “rocks”, they may actually become bigger and
bigger over time. The more we allow our habits, especially not so good
habits, to become entrenched in our lives, the more difficult they
become to remove.
Like the farmer in the story, when we have stones of
frustration rearing their ugly heads in our day to day lives, and we
start to give in to anger, pride, hurt and revenge, may we use the
crowbar of our courage to wedge underneath our debilitating weaknesses,
remember to face our own faults, and to look past grudges.
It is true, that some of our rocks may be very difficult. Some may seem
somewhat impossible to overcome or remove. Stories such as the old “Hatfields and McCoys”,
remind us that many feuds, fights and grudges can develop from our
reactions to a given situation. Some of these struggles can last for
more than one life span, going from one generation to another. Do we
contribute to this in our circle of influence?
We now all have the challenge to honestly look at, and face,
the boulders in our lives responsibly and, in my opinion, prayerfully.
Then it is our job to do all we can to remove these pebbles, stones,
rocks and boulders from our lives. We are the ones who allow our
actions to become a part of our makeup and often control much of our
behavior.
We know that the solutions are not normally very easy to
determine and it can be more difficult to remove those rocks when we
have let them become embedded. However, it is equally as frustrating
and difficult to only work around them. Our lives can be much easier
and have much more joy and happiness, when we purge our souls of all these destructive stones to which we tend to cling.
I don’t know why it seems so hard at times to really let go, but I know
that when we do, and when I actually have, life becomes more peaceful
and daily activities are more consistently enjoyable. Much like the
swearing in of the first African-American President, once thought close
to impossible, we too can reach new horizons in our life to move beyond
our embedded obstacles. It is my prayer that you find this in your
life. Never be afraid to try something new. “Remember that amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic.”
It is my hope that this message will help you this week to, “mount up as on eagle’s wings”, and renew a little of your strength to keep moving forward and find joy…(Isaiah 40:31)
Until next week, may God bless you and may God continue to bless our great nation… SEMPER FI
Chaplain Ringo, is the Command Chaplain at MCRD H&S BN,
holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Counseling, and is a Certified
Trauma Specialist.
Chaplain Ringo is a good friend and supporter of HealthWalk’s. We are
grateful that he is working with us on our integrated total health
approach to enhancing and restoring our veterans’ resilience for
re-engagement and for their transition from the high operational tempo
back to their families and civilian life
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