The Train and the Tree

A train is fast and fierce, it moves with a sense of purpose and intensity. It covers great distance and gathers people from all over to carry them safely to a shared destination. A tree is solid and rooted, it stays still and stretches its branches wide to provide a covering and shelter in the storm.

As I processed an old familiar feeling of being too slow and unable to keep up, a wise friend shared this imagery. She held a mirror and reminded me that I am like a tree and my presence is a powerful invitation to rest in stillness. She reminded me how Laurie is more like a train whose power is in the forward movement. Yes, each of us have very different personalities and ways of being in the world, but the combined gift of the two working together is what makes our organization, SOWthat … what it is.

The enemy is always whispering through comparison. The voice that says to the one; “you are moving too fast, you are too much” turns to the other and says “Don’t just sit there, move quickly, you aren’t doing enough.”

If we take the hook and listen to the voice of accusation, we lose our footing and get pulled out of our true nature which is one of a kind and created for a specific purpose.

There is an anxiety that builds as I try to be who I am not, but when I remember the truth of who I am, my roots sink a little deeper and my branches reach out a little farther.

When Laurie gets on a roll and buzzes out of the station she brings an exciting energy of growth and transformation. It inspires and calls others to board the train and enjoy the adventure. As I watch with delight, gratitude fills my heart and I am overwhelmed that God would bring her train to stop and that she would step off and sit in the shade of my branches. She shares stories of the land she has covered and allows her travel weary soul to sink into the stillness. It is a beautiful image of collaboration.

Part of collaboration is knowing who you are in your original goodness and bringing all of that to the table. It is opening your eyes wide to see the unique and gifted others that are seated in your circle.

When envy rears its evil head it mocks the goodness that is present and says “you should be more like that.” It is a dark and sneaky spirit that often goes unseen, but once it is noticed and named it is a call to repentance.

To own and bless what is yours and remember that it is very good, so that you can see and celebrate what is very good in the others.

Each of the gifts that we are called to bring to the world are necessary and good for a unique purpose. Just like the body has many parts, each one has a very good and specific job to do. When all the parts work together it makes such a miraculous whole. We are thankful for each person who hops on the train or rests in the tree’s shade.

It is an honor to work together to serve those of you who are ready to dive into your unique purpose and calling. We admit that working together has its bumps like the one expressed here, but it is these bumps that refine us and shape us into more of who we were created to be.

Today, will you pause and identify the unique gift that you bring to the world just by being you? Can you take a little time to celebrate this goodness and also the goodness that is surrounding and supporting you?

Please join us for our virtual Trauma and the Enneagram workshop on May 9th. you can register HERE:

The Intersection

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; Beauty from ashes – You’ve heard all the clichés. Throughout my life, I’ve always had a sense that there’s more and that these clichés are actually true. I am the person I am today because of the circumstances of my life, right?

While I believe this is true, I’m now convinced there’s more. There are more than just ashes supernaturally making my difficult circumstances beautiful. This is both good news and problematic. Good news because it says my pain is worth something – that there is a purpose that is good. Problematic because it requires something of me, something that is difficult and brave and deeply uncomfortable. ”I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us,” says Paul in Romans 8:18. The operative word here is in us. Glory is revealed in me? Yes, but only when I compare it to my present sufferings – which requires me to look at them—and a hard look at them with Jesus at my side, nudging me with the hope that glorious purpose can be birthed.

This means that when I feel the unease of God’s hand gently pressing something specific on me, I embrace it and linger in it, holding it in my hands delicately, like a newborn. It requires me to turn away from distractions – a glass of wine, another humorous video or simply scroll my Facebook newsfeed again. I will do anything to distract myself from the twinge of uneasiness.

Jesus’ own life was a beautiful, and tragic, mix of purpose and pain. He’s described as a man well acquainted with grief, perhaps because He was crystal-clear in his purpose, right to the cross. Unlike Him, we deeply desire purpose but often want it without the pain. We want to be the passionate, strong leader our church teaches us to be, but often we want to go unscathed in the process.

My own sense of purpose is somewhat vague to me during this present season. I wrestle to unearth that which I sense God drawing me to look at, deeply held beliefs due to scars in my past, as well as patterns of relating that I keep clutched. I cooperate, slowly letting go like a child releasing a blanket of security, trusting God will someday bring purpose to all the difficult grappling.

In the words of speaker, writer and thought-leader, Dan Allender, to have purpose “…one needs to have walked where few choose to tread – the valley of the shadow of death.” The irony of this is that it is actually good news. In a sense God’s only requirement for us to have purpose is to look inward, with Him, at the truth of our trauma and brokenness. Only then, after being refined, will our profound purpose be revealed. Beauty from ashes? Oh yes, with a relentless trust that our purpose is something God had in mind for us all along.

Join us April 28th for our Unleash Your Life Purpose Workshop and begin to find and unleash your unique and stunning purpose into this world.