This picture is of Big
Greenie, as you can tell she wasn't exactly a happy camper, when she was being transported via turtle "airlines" from her summer resort, to her winter home for warmth.
Birds may fly south for the winter but "some" turtles are air "flighted" back to their " winter
condo's ".
I was thinking when one is in a conflict of some sort, the inner walls of defense start to go up.After a time, they can seem insurmountable, much like the walls of this 5 gallon bucket became , or possibly seemed for Big
Greenie. She went a step further and even retreated from the walls erected around her by going into her shell.
What are your walls of protection? What seems insurmountable to you?
Does your marriage seem beyond hope ?
Does it seem like you are never going to succeed in ? ( your new business, your job, raising your children, healing of hurts, memories, restoration of broken relationships ? the list goes on)
Sometimes it seems no matter how hard we try, it appears to just get harder.
The more successful , we are, in any given area, can seem to create even more problems.
We become frozen , we start erecting walls, make them higher and higher , perhaps pull into our shell.
STOP THE PLANET from spinning I WANT OFF.... you may cry, and feel like no one is listening, or even cares.
I love the simple child like prayer of faith and the thought expressed by the mom in a recent post
Possible PrayersIt goes along with something God revealed to me earlier today.
Today at an all day training I attended , I was challenged for further personal growth.
In my ruminating on these challenges (something I do over at
farmfunnies :-) and ideas I "picked" up and tucked into my notebook, I was so frustrated. Why do some things never seem to change, I pondered, despite the efforts I put into them...WHY WHY WHY ?
AHA, as a new light "turns" on to shine on a different facet of my life, ..here is where I have gone amiss . It is still my efforts, even though I have cried out for help in some areas, poured out my broken heart, pleaded or said I give up, thus some small measure of "protection" has been kept in tact..
This measure of protection often disguises "itself"...
Some examples I came up with :
A retort back to a spouse who has wounded you ( to defend your own "position" or intent)
Keeping a buffer of fluff (I hate the word fat) to "protect you from a childhood of painful hurts or inflictions by abuse either mentally , physically or emotional or even all three. This buffer can both " protect" and cause more pain/rejection. There are other buffers, lack of fulfillment,achieving potential,leading, finishing projects, more of course, but you get the idea.
Any or all can cause the walls to become higher, and we may even react with rebellion or withdrawal to our "shell".
The lack of follow through, completing etc. can also be a method of self protection. If you never "finish" you are not open for rejection, criticism etc.
Here is where the AHA fits. When we put up those walls ,retaliate in some measure, not rise to meet the challenge , not finish or complete any given area,goal ,dream or ?..which of course means doing the daily "dozen" (as mundane as they may be) or disciplines of working through an issue , what are we actually "saying" by or "living" ?
We are living and expressing a lack of faith. Bottom line, it is a mistrust of God's ability to be:
Our ROCK, our shield,our defender,our protection,our provider,our deliverer,
So what walls of protection have you erected?
As hard as I have "worked" and I thought with God's help, I realized (again)I just need to let Go,
yep the let go and let God. We can know it, but not know it..
So simple ,so easy, so hard. Perhaps like me you can stop struggling in the river of life
grab on to God's ability to keep you afloat, to deliver to protect you.
Remember though from an earlier post , we do have an active part and we do have to fight.
I shared how it is the dead salmon who floats effortlessly downstream, it is the live one who struggles and fights the current and at times seems to not make progress , who goes upstream.
Which salmon , which turtle are you?
Just whisper I don't need that wall, that layer of fluff, that whatever, rest in God's abilities not your own . With God I can and will let Him do my fighting in and through me.
Then why not sing as Rich Mullins...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ2OMoFuHQQ .. or Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PTvr755V8s of perhaps Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Sn5rV6oM0perhaps you need a song to cut through persecution,
( please don't take these next few songs lightly, this is serious, while I believe in the messages, and enjoy Carmen, I also offer thoughts ,that personally I am careful where Angels fear to tread,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2dKfkVj8O8this next one , whgile it is delightful and very well done ( wow ! kudo's to Carmen )is rather graphic, so please do not watch if you are effected by visual graphics and as mentioned this is serious business, so I caution be sure you are wearing the full armor of God mentioned in scripture and even fasting some prayer cover "around' You (clean, good, but powerful)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SswiYEXZrIg May you find true freedom in His loving protection and provision.
May you grow, and be MERRY in HEART :-)
Life, you never know what treasure is just around the corner.
remember, a smile is just a frown turned upside down , 
