“Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees;” (Hebrews 12:12)
“...lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” (from Hebrews 12:15)
The piece which was posted just before this one “Disappointment or Appointment” is one which a lot of people just plain wouldn’t have written or posted. (Although posted at the same time, "Disappointment or Appointment" was actually written on Sunday afternoon and "Progress" was actually written on Monday morning.) We all have this “stuff” we deal with. Some people are more honest about that than others are. It’s amazing the “demons” some people wrestle with. For reasons of confidentiality, I certainly can’t go into great detail on this one, but I talked to a person recently who went through a complete personal collapse within the past year or so...he lost his job...he became addicted to painkillers...he spent down his family’s assets to support his habit...he literally turned into another person. He then “hit bottom” as they say in recovery groups, and is slowly but surely coming back to being a reasonably whole and healthy person. It turns out his total personal collapse was due to deep anger, resentment, and confusion from troubling things that happened in his life over thirty years ago. Way below the surface this stuff festered and festered, and ultimately there was a complete collapse. It’s kind of like that bridge in Minnesota. It may have looked fine, but it WASN’T. Deterioration was happening below the surface, and when least expected everything let go. The guy I’m talking about here had a good job and a seemingly great life. Everything looked to be fine. It wasn’t, and like the bridge, there was a total collapse.
My sister is gutting and redoing several rooms in the house we grew up in over in Canton, MA. Along with a friend, we were over there on Saturday afternoon getting things ready in for the drywallers to come in and work on several rooms. Dianne just had a brand new shower unit installed in the upstairs bathroom, and this revealed something surprising about the rear wall of the house. It’s NOT straight...not even close. The entire rear wall of the house leans OUT about an inch and a half from the foundation to the roof. When the house was framed in 1958, it was done wrong. Our handyman friend had to fit various pieces of wood in behind the shower unit to secure it and to try to make things a little less crazy for the drywallers. They already had been out to look the situation over and are aware of the problem. That’s another of those situations where something LOOKED right but it wasn’t.
The good news is that progress is being made at the Canton house. For years it had been neglected and in disrepair, but slowly but surely it is being fixed up and improved. Progress is being made.
In an earlier piece. I wrote about all the “blue collar” projects I really need to have done before Thanksgiving. I started with 21, and now it’s down to 17 and by the end of this week will be at least 16. When I think about the schedule I’m keeping at age 53 (much busier than 20 years ago) I don’t know how I do it, but progress is being made.
I guess that’s what’s important. If we are honest and real and committed and we keep moving forward, well that’s progress. “Disappointment or Appointment” is a very “vulnerable” piece even for ME. Some personal situations last week, well, as I wrote about, they were very painful beneath the surface. But I’ve both processed them and I’m still processing them. As much as some people can’t figure Bob Baril out and will never be able to figure Bob Baril out, I can’t allow the kind of “denial” in my life that leads to the kind of meltdown the guy I wrote about above experienced. I can’t allow myself to be what appears to be a sturdy bridge which really is not, or who appears to be perfectly straight but is not. The athletes say, “No pain, no gain”. That’s true emotionally and physically.
So all around and in many areas, progress is being made and that’s what’s important.
“...lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.” (from Hebrews 12:15)
The piece which was posted just before this one “Disappointment or Appointment” is one which a lot of people just plain wouldn’t have written or posted. (Although posted at the same time, "Disappointment or Appointment" was actually written on Sunday afternoon and "Progress" was actually written on Monday morning.) We all have this “stuff” we deal with. Some people are more honest about that than others are. It’s amazing the “demons” some people wrestle with. For reasons of confidentiality, I certainly can’t go into great detail on this one, but I talked to a person recently who went through a complete personal collapse within the past year or so...he lost his job...he became addicted to painkillers...he spent down his family’s assets to support his habit...he literally turned into another person. He then “hit bottom” as they say in recovery groups, and is slowly but surely coming back to being a reasonably whole and healthy person. It turns out his total personal collapse was due to deep anger, resentment, and confusion from troubling things that happened in his life over thirty years ago. Way below the surface this stuff festered and festered, and ultimately there was a complete collapse. It’s kind of like that bridge in Minnesota. It may have looked fine, but it WASN’T. Deterioration was happening below the surface, and when least expected everything let go. The guy I’m talking about here had a good job and a seemingly great life. Everything looked to be fine. It wasn’t, and like the bridge, there was a total collapse.
My sister is gutting and redoing several rooms in the house we grew up in over in Canton, MA. Along with a friend, we were over there on Saturday afternoon getting things ready in for the drywallers to come in and work on several rooms. Dianne just had a brand new shower unit installed in the upstairs bathroom, and this revealed something surprising about the rear wall of the house. It’s NOT straight...not even close. The entire rear wall of the house leans OUT about an inch and a half from the foundation to the roof. When the house was framed in 1958, it was done wrong. Our handyman friend had to fit various pieces of wood in behind the shower unit to secure it and to try to make things a little less crazy for the drywallers. They already had been out to look the situation over and are aware of the problem. That’s another of those situations where something LOOKED right but it wasn’t.
The good news is that progress is being made at the Canton house. For years it had been neglected and in disrepair, but slowly but surely it is being fixed up and improved. Progress is being made.
In an earlier piece. I wrote about all the “blue collar” projects I really need to have done before Thanksgiving. I started with 21, and now it’s down to 17 and by the end of this week will be at least 16. When I think about the schedule I’m keeping at age 53 (much busier than 20 years ago) I don’t know how I do it, but progress is being made.
I guess that’s what’s important. If we are honest and real and committed and we keep moving forward, well that’s progress. “Disappointment or Appointment” is a very “vulnerable” piece even for ME. Some personal situations last week, well, as I wrote about, they were very painful beneath the surface. But I’ve both processed them and I’m still processing them. As much as some people can’t figure Bob Baril out and will never be able to figure Bob Baril out, I can’t allow the kind of “denial” in my life that leads to the kind of meltdown the guy I wrote about above experienced. I can’t allow myself to be what appears to be a sturdy bridge which really is not, or who appears to be perfectly straight but is not. The athletes say, “No pain, no gain”. That’s true emotionally and physically.
So all around and in many areas, progress is being made and that’s what’s important.
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