Of Random and Awesome Things
So when I was at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan last Christmas, I got a book called The Book of Awesome. It is a celebratory collection of everyday little things that make life easier and more sweet. After each particular instance, the author writes his own explanation of why the thing is awesome, and it's usually hilarious because almost anyone can identify.
For instance, it may be something like being able to transfer all your clothes from the washer to the dryer without dropping anything. Awesome!
Or it could be - man, I need to read the book again. I can't think of another example.
Anyway, I think you can come up with some of your own examples. Its really important to notice little things if you want to be a thankful person.
So I was thinking about this yesterday evening when I went exploring in the woods. It was the last day of registration here at Ouachita Hills College, and I didn't have to be at any meetings or work or class or anything. It was a perfect time to go get lost in the woods, especially since in the evening it had cooled off from the 100+ degrees it had been during the day.
When I'm at school, I transform from a quiet, turtle-ish, over-thinker into an absent-minded social butterfly that literally can hardly hold still. I walk fast or run everywhere, I try to do as many things at once as possible, and make sure I am never just sitting around doing nothing. I even eat as fast as possible.
It's not good, but I don't know how to handle being in school otherwise. I have to run and hit everything as hard as I can, or else I - um. Well I don't know what will happen. I've never tried it. I guess I might get overwhelmed? But I already do...so...
Anyway.
The only way I can care for my quieter side is by randomly disappearing and either sleeping for a few hours or running off into the woods or writing about all the things I experience while I'm being social.
Going into the woods is especially fun for me if I deliberately go somewhere I've never gone before. Since everything else in my life is structured, it's liberating to go on a nice, unstructured walk. I like getting lost, especially.
I guess it's the whole thing about a near-miss making you feel invincible. I got legitimately lost in a dense forest with my sister once and was starting to get scared by the time we found a trail I recognized. We made it home, but not before I had flirted with the feeling of helplessness and realized that it wasn't going to kill me.
So now I'm almost so super-confident in my directional abilities that I try to get lost. It hasn't worked yet, but I did get close to not knowing where I was yesterday. It's an adrenaline rush.
The setting sun was still reaching through the trees and when I came to a bend in the trail, I felt compelled to just sit there on the pine needles and listen to the forest. My surroundings were so quietly alive; it was amazingly peaceful to sit there alone, wrapped in sunlight and silence.
And I thought, this may be the first time I've ever been alone and at peace.
And then I thought, this is awesome. Peace is totally real. I can experience it. Man, if this is what heaven is going to be like, then I definitely want to be there.
And it's true. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God.
And when you have completely given up everything for God, you will find joy in being with Him.
You will want to seek Him alone. Your devotions will not be forced; most of your problems and stresses will melt away.
But until you have gone through some agony of surrender, you will never be able to experience this peace. Until you're willing to give up everything that makes you an individual; your preferences, your tastes, your desires, your habits, your will...you will never be the person God created you to be.
We get so hung up on being ourselves and figuring ourselves out, but we would do better to lay ourselves aside and let God restore us into reflections of Himself.
For me, giving everything up to God has been a huge struggle; more real than first-time rappelling off the side of a cliff. I just don't want to trust anyone but myself, even though I'm always getting myself into trouble. The key was when God revealed to me how awful I am. Yes, it hurts a lot, but in my case, it's the only thing that would ever bring me to surrender. I just don't have a logical reason to give up, otherwise. If I'm doing ok, then why would I need God?
But I'm not doing ok. I do need God. And I'm really thankful He showed me that, because life is much better with Him than without.
So I guess the point of this post was...that...I went in the woods yesterday, and it was awesome, and I felt really peaceful and that was because I was at peace with God. And that was awesome.
So if I were to write my own book of awesome, I would mention that feeling of peace that comes from total surrender.
It's awesome. And totally possible, even for extremely strong-willed. self-sufficient, rebellious, independent individuals like me.
God can change anyone, and it is the best thing for them, ever.
(Even if it's like tearing your apart to get there. Get torn. It's worth it.)
For instance, it may be something like being able to transfer all your clothes from the washer to the dryer without dropping anything. Awesome!
Or it could be - man, I need to read the book again. I can't think of another example.
Anyway, I think you can come up with some of your own examples. Its really important to notice little things if you want to be a thankful person.
So I was thinking about this yesterday evening when I went exploring in the woods. It was the last day of registration here at Ouachita Hills College, and I didn't have to be at any meetings or work or class or anything. It was a perfect time to go get lost in the woods, especially since in the evening it had cooled off from the 100+ degrees it had been during the day.
When I'm at school, I transform from a quiet, turtle-ish, over-thinker into an absent-minded social butterfly that literally can hardly hold still. I walk fast or run everywhere, I try to do as many things at once as possible, and make sure I am never just sitting around doing nothing. I even eat as fast as possible.
It's not good, but I don't know how to handle being in school otherwise. I have to run and hit everything as hard as I can, or else I - um. Well I don't know what will happen. I've never tried it. I guess I might get overwhelmed? But I already do...so...
Anyway.
The only way I can care for my quieter side is by randomly disappearing and either sleeping for a few hours or running off into the woods or writing about all the things I experience while I'm being social.
Going into the woods is especially fun for me if I deliberately go somewhere I've never gone before. Since everything else in my life is structured, it's liberating to go on a nice, unstructured walk. I like getting lost, especially.
I guess it's the whole thing about a near-miss making you feel invincible. I got legitimately lost in a dense forest with my sister once and was starting to get scared by the time we found a trail I recognized. We made it home, but not before I had flirted with the feeling of helplessness and realized that it wasn't going to kill me.
So now I'm almost so super-confident in my directional abilities that I try to get lost. It hasn't worked yet, but I did get close to not knowing where I was yesterday. It's an adrenaline rush.
The setting sun was still reaching through the trees and when I came to a bend in the trail, I felt compelled to just sit there on the pine needles and listen to the forest. My surroundings were so quietly alive; it was amazingly peaceful to sit there alone, wrapped in sunlight and silence.
And I thought, this may be the first time I've ever been alone and at peace.
And then I thought, this is awesome. Peace is totally real. I can experience it. Man, if this is what heaven is going to be like, then I definitely want to be there.
And it's true. Heaven is a ceaseless approaching to God.
And when you have completely given up everything for God, you will find joy in being with Him.
You will want to seek Him alone. Your devotions will not be forced; most of your problems and stresses will melt away.
But until you have gone through some agony of surrender, you will never be able to experience this peace. Until you're willing to give up everything that makes you an individual; your preferences, your tastes, your desires, your habits, your will...you will never be the person God created you to be.
We get so hung up on being ourselves and figuring ourselves out, but we would do better to lay ourselves aside and let God restore us into reflections of Himself.
For me, giving everything up to God has been a huge struggle; more real than first-time rappelling off the side of a cliff. I just don't want to trust anyone but myself, even though I'm always getting myself into trouble. The key was when God revealed to me how awful I am. Yes, it hurts a lot, but in my case, it's the only thing that would ever bring me to surrender. I just don't have a logical reason to give up, otherwise. If I'm doing ok, then why would I need God?
But I'm not doing ok. I do need God. And I'm really thankful He showed me that, because life is much better with Him than without.
So I guess the point of this post was...that...I went in the woods yesterday, and it was awesome, and I felt really peaceful and that was because I was at peace with God. And that was awesome.
So if I were to write my own book of awesome, I would mention that feeling of peace that comes from total surrender.
It's awesome. And totally possible, even for extremely strong-willed. self-sufficient, rebellious, independent individuals like me.
God can change anyone, and it is the best thing for them, ever.
(Even if it's like tearing your apart to get there. Get torn. It's worth it.)
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