Left to Write: Devastation and reform
01-31-2007
by Brenten Gilbert

I feel like I was born for devestation and reform
Relient K - "Devastation and Reform"

If you need proof that we are more tied to a calendar than we are in tune with the world around us, our annual celebration of New Years is a good example. Though nature and much of the world begins anew in Spring, we take our cues from the calendar and, in late December and early January, plan out the coming year and consider the changes or fresh starts that we'd like to make.

Summer has warmth and the freedom that we celebrate in our youth. Autumn has the brilliance of a thousand colors. Winter, on the other hand, is cold and seems to exist in black and white. This may explain why it's difficult to keep on top of our New Year's resolutions and our annual vows to improve - we make them during the season that many find to be drab and depressing. However, despite our timing being less than ideal, it's still good that we take some time to evaluate and re-evaluate our lives on a fairly regular basis. Certainly, we're often off the mark with our goals and not exactly calibrated appropriately with God's will for our lives.

Whenever this occurs in my own life, it makes me step back and try to catch a glimpse of the bigger picture. Far too often, I find myself so absorbed in my current pursuits to realize the larger implications of my efforts. Many times in fact, I've come to understand that I've been on the entirely wrong path. In the past, I've referred to this as the "wrong mountain syndrome," because it feels as though I had spent years of my life climbing only to reach the top and realize that I was on the wrong mountain.

This is not an easy place to find yourself, but it's also quite exciting. In a recent conversation I had with Eric Owyoung of Future of Forestry, he described it as the twilight, which is neither good nor bad, but a chance to follow our faith and hope to an exciting new place.

The hard part is that many times this is a devastating time in our lives since we need to tear down the structures we've built as part of our plans and begin building anew according to blueprints that God has for us. Sound familiar?

Our lives as Christians consist of the continual process of reform. It's a difficult process, but as the Apostle Paul says, we need to put to death the old way of living in exchange for the new.

It's not an annual process, but a daily one. And, it's a privilege to take part in.

Thanks for your time.

- bdg.