Jenn’s Journey

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Good morning, Friends. How is January treating you so far? Sometimes this can be a melancholy month after the excitement of the holidays. To me, it seems it's already going by so quickly! Thanks for joining me here today for my reflections.

I may use Facebook a little too much but I swear I find the most thought-provoking posts and memoirs. The one that stood out to me this week was, "You can't use an egg unless it's broken." The post went on to say how perhaps we are best used by God after we are broken. I posted this on my own wall and some of the comments were thought-provoking.

My boyfriend remembers an experiment he saw as a kid. Hold an egg in the palm of your hand and try to crack it…apparently this is very hard to do. I Googled this to read more about it, and I guess this has been tried a lot! One of the experimenters concluded that if you hold an egg in an upright position, it is impossible to crack. It's very difficult, yet possible, to crack one when holding it on its side.

A shell is made for protection. Eggshells protect life growing inside. Seashells protect the animal inside from harm. Necessary, right? At some point though, the life inside the shell has to break out to completely fulfill its purpose. If that does not happen, it equals death.

We tend to build shells around our lives and our hearts. Perhaps there are wounds so deep we want to encase them so as not to remember the pain. Maybe routine and rigidity keep us in familiarity. Staying inside the shell, our own little world, feels safe and comfortable. I am here to tell you, you cannot grow that way.

I tend to fear 'cracking.' I don't want to be pushed out of perceived safety. At times, life does this to us just by its nature. Other times, choices we make cause breaks in the shell. I don't believe God causes harm to come to us…but I do believe when it does, He uses it to help us and those we come in contact with. Yes, we have to allow Him to do that. How better to allow Him than to first admit we're broken? It's okay to be shattered. Let's stop trying to hold the shell in place, or piece it back together.

Since it's January and we're still full of hope for a new year, I challenge you to let the pieces of YOUR shell fall away. Grow in 2016, and let your growth be an encouragement to others. God has a plan!!!

Until next week, be blessed

Jenn