Brick Wall by Lori Jackson
Usually walls are seen in our society, on the basis of relationships, as bad – and typically they are, because they serve to provide barriers that don’t need to be there in our connection with others, and above all God. However, brick walls aren’t the banes this world has created them to be. They actually serve a purpose, and not always to keep us from something.
As Christians, we have to allow our thinking to transform into the likeness of Christ as we grow in Him. We need to let ourselves see the things of this world differently – just as Christ does; even brick walls.
So what purpose does a brick wall serve outside of just keeping things in or out? It helps stop us in our tracks to prompt us to pause for a moment.
These brick walls provide the ability to help us stop in our tracks from going down the road too fast prompting us to reassess what it is we are going toward. To reassess where our eyes are focused; and if they’re focused anywhere else besides Christ, we need to readjust before we can move beyond the wall we’ve hit.
Since school concluded for me, for the summer, I’ve been passionately focused on finishing my book this summer. Yet, the past two weeks, little work on it has been done due to 4 year old discipline issues at home and illness; and in the midst of the frustration this has prompted within me lately, I’ve been trying to simply figure out:
God, why am I not getting anywhere here!?
Lately, I’ve felt like the the toy robot that comes up against a wall and keeps on trying to press through the wall, but all I get is a whole bunch of nowhere…and a whole mess of worn out to the point my batteries are drained.
Some have sought to encourage me that this is all because of the enemy knowing just how big of a story I have to tell, and his tactics of throwing up distractions in my midst that I need to overcome by just pounding away at the keys and “Git ‘r done!”
Yes, I get that the enemy is the author of distraction – I’m not blind to this. But if I keep on focusing on blaming the enemy every time I catch a cold, have an allergy attack, or just get a migraine headache that I need to tackle…or just even have a flat out distracting day due to having a four year old son, or because a family member or friend needs me…I lose sight of the responsibility I have within my own hands to work out the dreams God has given me to work out.
The truth is, concerning working out of dreams, in the midst of working on dreams, at times, we need to pause. Otherwise, a brick wall be provided to pause us.
This pause is given to us to prompt us to re-think…re-consider…re-assess why it is we are doing what we are doing; for if we don’t understand our “why”, we risk losing the dream altogether.
Here I’ve been hammering out my degree since 2009, and I finally see an end in sight. Early next year, I’ll be graduating with my first degree…ever. This has been a long process to even get to within 5 classes of completing my degree. By the time I graduate, 19 years will have lapsed between my graduating High School and obtaining my Bachelors…19!
Now this isn’t a beat up on myself session here, I’m merely stating facts. I’m quite humbled and thankful that I’ve been able to go to school all this time. But pretty soon, I’ll be living out the dream of obtaining a degree that I’ve had in my heart now since I graduated High School…and right now, that is my first and foremost dream to achieve.
Not finishing writing a book.
This summer so far has been seeking to finish something I don’t need to finish yet. I have four more weeks to make certain I am focused on relaxing before I hit the books again in early August, which will lead me right into next March as I wrap up my final classes for this degree.
This is my season right now to simply…chill. To muster up my strength in Him for the last stretch of this road ahead. For pretty soon, I’m going to be at the finish line.
I’ll continue to write my book, but my focus isn’t on finishing it right now. Right now, my focus is on finishing my degree.
If I hadn’t hit the brick wall of being sick recently, taken out for a full week of what could have been productive time writing, He sought to remind me of Who (not what – a book) is most important in this journey He has me on. I needed to wake up by getting a physical pause in my life (a brick wall) to help me realize that I can’t finish two marathons at the same time. I can only finish one at a time.
The encouragement I have for you all based on what I’ve shared with you all here today, is this…
…run only one marathon at a time, and enjoy the journey on your way there.
If you hit a brick wall now and again, welcome it rather than curse it. Take it as a moment to pause and reassess what you’re doing so you can see exactly what steps you need to take next to get around, over or demo through the wall; and continue on down the path He’s called you on toward your finish line.
In the midst of it all, however, remember to fix your eyes and hearts on Him, and watch Him get you to your finish lines…one.at.a.time.
