Your Life as a River - Pt. 3 of 5

What makes a beach vacation complete? Riding a boogie board and catching the waves! There is no thrill like letting the current carry you!

Whether it's an exciting ride on the waves or a peaceful one on the lazy river at the pool, going with the current is the quickest and most relaxing way of moving forward. 

On the other hand, it is quite a different experience when we choose to navigate against the current. It is hard work and takes a lot of effort! 

I've found that cooperating with the seasons of my life is a lot like finding the current in a river and letting it carry me in the direction I am headed. When I find life is really hard, one of the first places I look at is my season, and ask - Am I resisting the natural flow of my life right now?

Seasons in our lives are determined by a lot of factors, a few to consider...

• single or married?
• kids and what ages?
• sickness and health limitations?
• educational or career demands?
• financial situation?
• family and friend relationships?
• stress level? 

Once we look at these areas realistically, we can find the current to provide the natural flow and energy for our lives. Living in sync is what I like to call it. A place where we stop comparing ourselves against others who are in a totally different season in their lives and that  irrational unwritten standard we self-erect in our brains. You know... that voice that tells us we simply are 'not enough'... not doing enough and not good enough.  

We free ourselves from the tyranny of idealism and embrace the freedom of realism. 

A season that I have personally had to be real with myself is in being a single parent. I think I have resisted it primarily because it wasn't one I ever wanted to be in. And secondly, because it's one that touched on my vulnerability and weakness. Hear me out - not that I believe it is bad to be a single parent or that single parents are weak. It simply isn't my ideal. And yes, it does expose my weaknesses. The reality is, I can't be and do what a husband and father would bring into our family. I face that truth constantly. 

When faced with a season or reality that hits like that - we have two choices. We can avoid it and create some false kind of identity that appears strong on the outside. You know, pull ourselves up by the boot straps by golly and do it. OR we can embrace it and find the strength and beauty of life with Christ as our completion and his Body, our friends, as a supply of His amazing grace.

Practically speaking, being a single parent affects almost every decision I make - my work hours, social life, and availability. For others of you, it may be your health or the financial situation that you are currently in.

Rather than fighting it, I've found that as I have embraced it; I've found a current that has carried me down a stream to some of the greatest treasures in my life. The very thing that makes me weak has become a tool of freedom, allowing me to flow in who I am and the life I have been given to live. 

This, is the good life. Not a life where everything is perfectly packaged in the ideal. Because sooner or later that is certain to fall short. But a life lived fully and freely as designed and given to be lived by our Creator.

A real life is a good life. Live yours today.