Facing our LIMITATIONS!

Well the past few days have been a REAL struggle!

Now, before someone reads these words and wants to shout out… “A struggle! You don’t even know the definition of the word buddy!”… let me just refer you to the following definition below:

You know, here’s the thing. We ALL have our limitations and difficulties in this thing called the journey of life and faith! We all have our challenges in life’s short but sometimes tumultuous twists and turns. But what happens when our limitations change? What do we do when what was normal (if there is ever such a thing) is no longer normal? The truth is when unforeseen limitations come our way it can really challenge us and cause life to slow down unexpectedly!

Check out what Alison Bonds Shapiro has to say about this in an article in Psychology Today:

“When we think our limitations are “normal” we assume we can find ways around them. If we suddenly lose the ability to do something we may feel resentful, different and stuck and not remember this creative gift our human nature brings us. But none of us has wings, and if we can remember our innate ability to find ways to live around our limitations and put our creativity to work, we can find ways to continue to have a rich and rewarding life.”

The reality is simply this we (that means every one of us) all will from time-to-time find ourselves facing changes in “WHAT” we think is our normal, everyday experience of life. And when that happens, we have basically two choices. We either sink or find a way to swim! We either drown or we find a way to stay a float (we find our water wings so to speak).

Honestly, that has been my challenge the past three days. After having to confront some news I knew was coming, and after having pushed too hard in my recovery I came face-to-face with some pretty bleak days. It was hard to get motivated, hard to move physically, and hard to focus on ways to seek the “GOOD” in this journey I never saw coming! Even as I sit and type this into my computer the pain in my shoulder and arm make it difficult to hit the right keys and formulate the words I want to write. To say that my outlook had become compromised would be putting it mildly!

But here’s the thing. I have never been one to quit! Some might say I am stubborn at times to a fault even! And even though from time-to-time I fall a little more than short in the optimism category in this great journey, it is my stubbornness that causes me to push forward and get up one more time. And here is what I have learned and that is, the reality is, your life and mine will not be defined by how many times we fall down, but by how many times we get back up again!

Now, recently my lovely wife mentioned that I have been a little “preachy” in a couple of my blogs (And I would say what do you expect from a sidelined pastor lol) but here’s the thing, the ONLY WAY I have been able to get back up again is I know I don’t fight this battle alone! My faith tells me over and over again that God is with me in the journey! That Jesus is with me in the battles, the struggles, the circumstances, and in the limitations that come my way along the way!

Personally, I have come to realize that for me, my stubbornness is not just based on my own strength alone but more importantly on the strength of the One who is for me and not against me! And when it comes to the limitations that we all will face one day in this amazing journey I would simply say this, and that is, you are NOT intended to face them alone! You were NEVER created to face life alone! We need something beyond simply our own strength and stubbornness to navigate the waters that often threaten to flood our existences. My personal prayer would be that in those moments you turn to Jesus because I have come to know him to be faithful in both the ups and downs of my own journey! But having said that, at the very least I pray you would reach out to those around you and not suffer in silence! Sometimes with injuries like brain injuries, it is difficult for people to “SEE” that anything is wrong based upon outward appearances. Which is “WHY” the onus is on us to speak up and to reach out more often than not!

Which leads me to this one final thought and that is… “Our LIMITATIONS are the OPPORTUNITY to ENGAGE those around us!”

In order to get past some of the limitations, challenges, and struggles that come our way in this thing called the journey of life and faith we have to be willing to REACH OUT! We have to be willing to SPEAK UP! We have to be willing to STEPT OUT! We have to be willing to ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK… because often it is hard for others to “SEE” the struggles and to “UNDERSTAND”!

Which is “WHY” if you would like me to be PRAYING for you as you FACE your LIMITATIONS just leave me a comment below and you can rest assured I will do just that!

Blessings in the journey…

Rev Trev