Sand Paper Moments

                        
Struggling with loads of laundry, clutter in the kitchen and chaos in your life? Stress can easily steal our joy. Trish Berg reminds us to simplify the small stuff and find Joy in the Journey. Sand Paper Moments By Trish Berg I don’t like to be uncomfortable. I am, if you will, a comfort seeker. I like air conditioning in the summer and warm fireplaces in the winter. I am not a fan of camping and prefer a luxury hotel, though have survived camping with my family from time to time. I like warm, fuzzy slippers, soft, fleece sheets on my bed and for everyone in the world to like me. But life is not that simple. And sometimes we are forced to face sand paper moments. Sand paper moments are those times when we are uncomfortable in one way or another. Sand paper moments rub you the wrong way. When a friend says or does something the hurts your heart, when a family member ignores or offends you, or when you lose your job. They are rough to go through, like rubbing sand paper on your skin. And they hurt. I have faced many sand paper moments in my life. I have been lied to, cheated on, betrayed and hurt by people who are supposed to love me. I have been let down, ignored and shut out. Mostly by people who are supposed to love me. People I trusted. It has taken me a long time, over forty-one years, to realize that my life will most definitely include sand paper moments where I am stretched far beyond my capabilities of forgiveness and healing. When I can’t see the good in what is happening or why God allowed it to happen to me. But each time I have faced a sand paper moment, I have survived. And maybe that’s what they are about. Maybe we can’t avoid them. We are not able to ignore them. And growing bitterness in our hearts only makes our soul sour. Survival may be all we can do. Survive and allow the sand paper to rub against us not in a rough, painful way. But in a way that shapes and smooths our spirit. Mike and I are in the process of refinishing our front porch. When we renovated our century old farmhouse in 1999, we had a new wrap-around porch built. We stained the floor and posts deep burgundy and loved it. We have spent a lot of time on our front porch, sitting on the rockers and swing, talking, laughing, and loving our children. All that time and weathering has caused the porch floor to become dull and worn. So it is time to re-finish it. We began with the posts. Mike sanded and sanded until they were as smooth as silk. It took two coats of primer and two coats of paint to turn those burgundy posts into sparkling white posts. But they are done and they look beautiful. Without sanding those posts, we would never have been able to transform them into what they are today. Their beauty would have been hidden by the scars and splinters that life left on them. And I believe we are the same way. God allows sand paper moments to happen to us so He can sand away the scars and splinters. He coats us with His primer of grace and He paints us with His love. Then He sends us out into the world to show off our shine. Have no doubt-the sand paper moments will come into your life. But you can survive knowing that God will never stretch you beyond your capabilities of forgiveness and healing as He sands away at your soul….because nothing is beyond His. Catch up with Trish at www.TrishBerg.com


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