Leaning In

A consistent message has been placed in my path and on my heart for some time. Many circumstances and situations offer the opportunity to put the truth before me into practice. But, it certainly is counter intuitive. On my own strength - impossible. 

Instead of pushing away, pulling close. Leaning in. Not casting off. Holding instead of isolating. Near, not far. Receiving. Accepting. Resting. 

It goes against my human nature to pull someone in when I'm hurt or disappointed. Angry and rejected. It seems natural to push away. But, that creates isolation. Lonesomeness. More of me. 

Selfishness is the root of so much negative in life. It holds the door open for enemies of our faith. Anger, greed, hate, jealousy, strife,resentment, envy...  the list is endless. When Jesus was asked the greatest commandment He answered 'to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength' and the 2nd greatest is to love our neighbor as ourselves. Nowhere did He mention to love ourselves best, first or at all even. Possibly because He simply knew there was no need of a reminder to love ourselves. We do that quite naturally. 

I remember putting our kids in time-out from time to time. They would misbehave or disobey and I would send them to an isolated place and withdraw my presence from them. The goal of course was to give them (and me) time to cool off, think it through and make better choices. Discipline. 

While we didn't choose spanking as a form of discipline except in extreme circumstances, there is a simple truth that most any parent can attest. If you step as far away as possible before spanking, there is more room to exercise strength and power in the hit. The closer you stand to the child the less room to draw back and as a result the impact is less.

In applying this principle to other situations, it would seem that the closer we are to the one providing discipline, the less pain we incur. To draw close seems wise. It requires strength to risk and let go of our hurt and protection of distance. But closeness is greater than isolation. So, the next time I'm tempted to push away, I'll pull in and stay close. There's healing in that kind of love. And I'm thankful God lets me come to Him before I get myself cleaned up and pulled back together and He calls me to exercise that with the ones He's entrusted to my care. His ways >>>