Holding
I recently visited a butterfly exhibit at a museum. Something struck me as we stood in line to enter the display.
Before entering, you must wait in this holding area.
Then, you must shut the door behind you and ensure it is fully closed before you can open the entry door to the exhibit.
The door from where you came must be completely closed before entering into your new, beautiful experience.
In other words:
You have to close the door to your past before you can open the door to your future.
It seems oddly familiar to what we are experiencing in life, doesn't it?
We know that we must shut the door on the past to move into our beautiful future.
But we are scared. So we hold.
I don't know about you, but I can sit in that holding room for YEARS.
Fear holds us back, and the voices in our heads remind us that it's scary in there. We have no idea what will happen, and that completely terrifies us.
Our negative what-ifs start their tirades:
What if something horrible happens again?
What if something or someone hurts us?
What if we aren't safe?
What is it's worse than what we have now?
It's like that ole cheery and inspirational phrase, "The devil we know vs. the devil we don't. (who came up with that awful phrase anyway?)."
It's probably better to just wait here.
In our holding patter, we know we don't want to go back to our past, that much is certain.
Yet we can't help but look back at it over and over again to remind ourselves how scary it was to validate our indecision to move forward.
So we hold.
Annoying muzak plays in the background (is that a 1980s hard rock song we just heard?) as we pace, overthink, twiddle our thumbs, and watch everyone having a lovely time in there.
They are laughing, smiling, and admiring all the beauty around them. They are so busy enjoying their new experience that they do not look back - not once - into the holding room where we sit or to the line of those waiting to get in.
Not once.
It is time, my friend.
We must be brave and step into the future we have always wanted.
We are ready.
No more holding. No more waiting.
And for the love of all things holy, no more muzak.
Shut the door behind you. It is time to move forward. You are safe now.
You are free to move forward.
Let the negative what-ifs fall away and replace them with:
What if we see something beautiful?
What if we experience joy like never before?
What if we find there is more in there than we ever dreamed possible?
What if we find we are stronger than we know to handle anything that might happen?
God has so many lovely surprises waiting for us. All we need to do is shut the door behind us and walk in.
One step at a time.
Oh my gosh. I can see it - can you?
It's right there - what we've always dreamed of, what we've always wanted!
And it is so beautiful!
Isaiah 43: 18-19
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Philippians 3:14
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Jeremiah 29: 11-14
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity.