Hold open space

Dear Reader:

I, purposely, chose this hermit crab drawing to start the blog because a favorite fellow blogger of mine, who has MS, just recently lost the last bit of strength in both her arms, so she  took the scary plunge, as an artist… to draw with her mouth.

Isn’t it fabulous? Jenson learned how to overcome her fears and “hold open space.” She is consumed with new happiness for overcoming this challenging obstacle to maintain an important joy in her life.

It wasn’t just the amazing sketch that pulled me to her blog the other day…it was two simple paragraphs Kate Wolf-Jenson  (blog “Journey Dancing“) shared that forced me to reflect on my own fear of “open space.”

“There are times, in our lives, when things are shifting. We have a sense that we are leaving behind the old and moving toward something new, but we don’t know what. These are vulnerable, sometimes scary times. Like hermit crabs, we scuttle between shells, feeling exposed. We worry about predators.”

During those times, it’s tempting to run for the nearest overhang, tempting to crawl inside whatever looks safe. Our greatest growth comes when we slow down enough to “hold open space” We must be willing to dwell in uncertainty so that the work of change can take place.”

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Haven’t we all watched little fiddler crabs scurrying around the beach…looking like they are in a panic to find what they need in the form of subsidence and then hide under a broken shell or a patch of seaweed before venturing out again?

Open spaces are scary…there are “things” out there waiting to grab us or, at the least, turn our world upside down. I love Jenson’s expression about these stages in life …calling it “holding open space.” 

I am sure Mollie is going through this uncertain open space period right now…as Jenson says:

… “There are times, in our lives, when things are shifting. We have a sense that we are leaving behind the old and moving toward something new, but we don’t know what. These are vulnerable, sometimes scary times.”

Our little Baby Dingle must be feeling the same thing…he/she seems quite content to stay in its “shell” where comfort and security abide. To be born means to “hold open space.” And it is very scary, as I can only imagine, to a newborn. (His/her first leap of faith.)

Yet, when we reflect on the greatest growth in our lives to date…I think most, if not all, of us must admit that the major achievements, along our life journey, have been made when we did “hold open space” and risk the unknown over the secure and familiar.

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Every month Jenson has a “Kind Promise” she makes to herself and shares with her readers….this month it is:

Kind Promise:    I will surrender patiently

In the Bible Study (on the prophet Jeremiah) many of us have been struggling with the message this prophet heard from God telling Jeremiah to convince his country to surrender to its enemies. Victory and peace would come later….now they must surrender.

Obviously this was a very unpopular message back then and it still is today. Following Jenson’s blog and hearing monthly of her latest physical “losses” (which saddens me) she continues to amaze me with her reserve to meet each immediate body loss with determination to find other creative ways to counteract the loss.

…And part of that determination centers around total surrender to God’s plans for her along this arduous journey she is travels. She starts by calling her journey the “Dancing Journey” and imaginatively dances in her wheelchair daily.

Jenson might call a friend and ask if he/she would take her somewhere “joyful”  and then she “patiently surrenders” the plans and details of the trip to her friend.

The light is just now beginning to dawn on me that surrendering to God is not a loss of personal power but, simply, an acknowledgement of a greater power.

A potter can’t mold clay if it is hard and brittle…only when it is soft and pliable. If the clay is not workable for the potter…then the dream and goal of the finished product ceases to exist. By surrendering to God’s will and not ours… we are assuring ourselves a finished ending  that reflects a fulfilled life…not an unfinished journey with hardened hearts and brittle souls.

So until tomorrow…Give us the courage, Father, to “hold open space” within our lives so that You can guide us through the changes necessary to bring us back home to You. By surrendering our will to yours…a life of amazing possibilities loom ahead.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Those of you on Facebook might have seen this already but I couldn’t not put it on the blog for non-Facebookers….our own Honey Burrell won the 2015 award (MS Walk) for Most Motivated Walker!!!  Honey spent her birthday weekend giving to others….a gift she has done all her life! Congratulations Honey…we are all so proud of you and you are so deserving of this award!!!!

*** Sunday afternoon I got a call from Mollie saying she thought something might be happening in the baby department and she and Walsh wondered if I could come over and wait with them to see if this was it! Of course I was scurrying like a little mouse to get there.

I ended up taking Rutledge over to Eva Cate’s to play (give Mollie some quiet time) and we ate supper there and then returned home to wait and see if our “Velveteen Rabbit” was real yet. I heard Walsh and Mollie return home some time in the night or early morning Monday. ( No baby…I reckon 3’s a crowd.)

( A couple of photos from Mandy’s…Watching our favorite show…”Jake and the Neverland Pirates”… eating Easter Bunny sugar cookies…hot out of the oven

The hospital experience turned out to be a trial run…but it appears we are getting closer to the finish line. This is always the hardest part… I found this cartoon the other day that says it all…..

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*Pam shared this funny photo she saw and liked…me too!

Before leaving yesterday I took Rutledge “outshide” to play…a boy and his trucks is love at first sight. When I went to get him out of his crib when he woke up…he was already flipping through his truck book (he had taken to bed)…pointing to each truck and (as best as he could) letting me know each name. This little man loves his trucks!