Interesting how there are times/experiences that really suck the life out of you. This past week has been one of those times. It has been a week full of confrontation, REALLY difficult conversations and at times I just felt like I was getting emotionally/spiritually beat up. I haven’t yet been able to articulate why these events have happened. Maybe I will never know. There are plenty of worse instances that could have come my way, but I can’t help but wonder if they are simply “bound” to happen, or if I have found myself in a spot that I can’t win? Hmmm…
This is an insightful quote that I recently read from Parker Palmer in his book Let Your Life Speak. It is a book that wrestles with the idea of vocation. Not just a career, but truly examining the life vocation that God instilled in each one of us from the day we were created. Here is the quote, “As often happens on the spiritual journey, we have arrived at the heart of a paradox: each time a door closes, the rest of the world opens up. All we need to do is stop pounding on the door that just closed, turn around – which puts the door behind us – and welcome the largeness of life that now lies open to our souls. The door that closed kept us from entering a room, but what now lies before us is the rest of reality.”
Somehow is the midst of all this crap, I have to be grateful. It is these times that force me to a level of introspection and contemplation that I often overlook. I also find great support and encouragement from those that I am closest with. For now, I pray for discernment in this life of vocation that God has called me to stumble down.