Chapter2

[Cyndi]

Page 35- "If a trial comes upon you in the place where you live, do not leave that place when the trial comes. Wherever you go, you will find that what you are running from is ahead of you." Abba Antony~ It took me a few years to come to realize this truth. It can be pretty amazing when you face the same type trial in a new place....where did that come from? It comes from not dealing with the trial head on. It is so easy (it seems) to back away from the trial and go in a different direction...until it pops up again! The only thing I would say to his quote is it isn't "If a trial comes..." but "when". I know in the past we have left a church due to difficulties or differences, only to find them someplace else...when we should have stayed where we were and dealt with it to begin with. Ahhhh, the 'wisdom of age'!! (page 39) "Maybe the single most important thing we can do if we want to grow spiritually is to stay in the place where we are". Have you ever had to confront an issue, either with yourself or another person(s)? Didn't you feel so much better after the initial dealings? It isn't easy....but the growth we can go through is awesome!

Page 40- "Practicing stability has meant unlearning the habits of a culture that tells us the answer to our problems is always somewhere else.". I remember in my teens thinking 'once a graduate, I am so out of this house...this town'. Because life had to be better somewhere else! But it wasn't. The house I moved to had it's own issues...or maybe I just had my own undealt with issues!? How things would have been different had I stayed put and grew up! (page 44) "The trouble for most of us isn't so much that we cannot afford stability as it is we don't value it.". Looking back, I can see a 'value in' having stayed put that I didn't see then. Even at times now, I feel things could or would be better someplace else....knowing full well it wouldn't. It is hard to stop the 'grass is always greener' mentality.

I took from this chapter that real growth comes from dealing with things head on. Not climbing up a ladder but crossing a bridge to deal with trials-people. In order to be as Jesus, I need to love a deal with His people....ALL of them :o)