It's one thing to talk about scary monsters in stories and silly old movies that are more funny than scary.
Because we all know that there aren't any monsters in real life ... right?
Well ... just because there aren't really any vampires, aliens, dinosaurs or zombies, doesn't mean there's not plenty of scary stuff out there in the real world. Just because aliens haven't landed on your roof, or just because zombies aren't trying to eat your brain, that doesn't mean that there's not a gracious plenty of things in life to avoid or flee or handle delicately.
But by far the scariest thing in life is the paradox that is you, and the thoughts and musings inside your own head.
It doesn't matter how young or old we are. Even the youngest among us find out quickly enough that much of the stress in life is coming from all the thinking and pondering we do while trying to figure out how to maneuver through life. By the time we start school, we've already discovered that life has rules and we have responsibilities and expectations that must be fulfilled. We learn that there are consequences that correlate directly to the decisions we make and the actions we take.
Most of the time we make good decisions and try to take correct actions, but outside influences, unforeseen circumstances, and our own mental, emotional and physical limitations hinder our progress. And it won't get any easier as we grow up ... school work gets more difficult, relationships with peers get more complicated, personal responsibilities increase. Work loads, school bullies, raging hormones ... and in the midst of all that, most of us are trying to figure out who we are, how we fit into the world, and what we want to do with this life we've been given.
By the time adulthood arrives, most people have pondered and wondered and experimented and have more or less decided on a path forward in life. Then, even as they proceed, they will still be pondering and considering and choosing, and there will be left turns and right turns, road blocks and detours. That path might end up in surprising and unexpected places.
From the inside, we size ourselves up. We try to determine if that last choice we made was good or bad. We analyze our progress, or the lack of progress. We lay out goals and plan the steps we'll take to meet those goals. We relish our successes and recover and learn from our mistakes. Through it all we learn about life and we learn about ourselves. And we ponder and think and consider it all. The conclusions we arrive at mold us and shape us, and we remember the lessons and let those influence our future thinking, choices and actions.
It's a universal phenomenon. We all do it. We all ask the burning, unanswerable questions that must be answered ... Who am I? Why am I here? Does my life have meaning? Am I having an impact?
Of course, many of us find those answers in God. I personally have found my answers in the God of the Bible. He pretty much covers all those big questions I have about life and what it all means.
Still, He doesn't pour the answers into my head all at once. He leads me along, of course, but it seems that mostly I find out things piece by piece as I stumble along through life. And sometimes life throws me a really fast curve ball that knocks me for a loop and, instead of answers, I end up with more questions.
Recently I got thrown a big curve ball that did just that ... left me with a big question ... a question that I thought had been settled long ago ... a universal question that I know many of you wrestle with, too ...
So in this month's blogs, I'll tell you about the curve ball that life threw at me, and together we'll explore and search for an answer to that universal question that I know burns in all of our souls ...
Am I a dog person? Or am I a cat person?