9/12/2016 There are a few words I've tried to remove from my vocabulary the last few years: wish and should.
We say things like "I wish I could do that, but....." We really don't wish it, though. Not really. If we really wanted it, we would do it.
We say "I should do that...." but we don't and feel guilty about not measuring up.
Here's what I am learning: The TRUTH is always what we DO.
Say that out loud to yourself: The TRUTH is what I DO.
That might sting a little. It's ok.
Words like "should" and "wish" are what I call "gap creators". They create a gap between where we ARE and where we think we are SUPPOSED to be. It steals our joy and robs us of contentment.
Woah.
This morning, our pastor said: we need to have God in the center of our lives.
I agree with him and somehow I feel like that means we need to be perfect.
Maybe WE have added layers of "should" to God. It feels hard to get to God/get Him to the center of us. The waters seem muddy and I can't quite figure out how to get from where I am to that type of perfection. It feels stuck.
What if we said: we need to have TRUTH in the center of our lives.
Oh! I can get my mind around that. There is no should there. I know what feels true.
We know how truth feels.
I SHOULD stay in this marriage. The TRUTH is, it's been over for awhile and I'm scared about what that might mean for me.
I SHOULD want to be friends with her. The TRUTH is my gut tells me she isn't trustworthy.
I SHOULD be happy with the job I have. The TRUTH is it sucks the life out of me.
We know how the truth feels.
BUT!
We feel like we can't live in our truth because of the "buts".
We know the TRUTH we just don't know what to DO about it.
What's true for you?
I want to ___________ BUT I'm afraid __________ because......
Write it down. And then look at it on paper and ask yourself - will the bad thing really happen if I live in truth?
Stick it on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, or in your car where you can see it for a few days.
Let your mind wander to it. Think about friends and loved ones who have taken the step to live authentically and in truth. What happened?
Was it rough at first and then so much better?
Did people who love them keep loving them?
Looking back, did they wish they had stepped out in truth a long time ago?
YES.
Our thing is not that we don't know what we want. We know what we want - the TRUTH. We think we SHOULD want something different.
One thing we know for sure - our bodies will tell us the truth.
SHOULD brings exhaustion, irritability, discontent.
TRUTH feels like clear, deep breaths and freedom.
Always.
💗 xo