Grumpy and Liberty: Part I
I find grumpy people to be funny and, for some reason, I have always been drawn to them and them to me. It is not the amusement factor that draws me, but the fact that I do not believe they are really “grumpy people” or mean people. I believe they are really scarred people that need someone to reach out and not fear the wrath. In my conversations with the grumpiness clan, I have often found stories that have touched me deeply. Wounds and scars that become a prison for so many of us are really choices we have made in life that leave a hurt, a failed plan or a loss of some kind; lending to “grumpy” and a soul in need. For me personally, I have learned to look to my savior for liberation and understanding. That being said, it is an immense struggle! In John 20:19-30 it shows that one of the first things Jesus did following His resurrection was invite Thomas to touch, not merely see, the scars of His hands. His scars are liberating and, with great faith for others and myself, I choose to believe our “grumpy” scars can be liberating as well.
I find grumpy people to be funny and, for some reason, I have always been drawn to them and them to me. It is not the amusement factor that draws me, but the fact that I do not believe they are really “grumpy people” or mean people. I believe they are really scarred people that need someone to reach out and not fear the wrath. In my conversations with the grumpiness clan, I have often found stories that have touched me deeply. Wounds and scars that become a prison for so many of us are really choices we have made in life that leave a hurt, a failed plan or a loss of some kind; lending to “grumpy” and a soul in need. For me personally, I have learned to look to my savior for liberation and understanding. That being said, it is an immense struggle! In John 20:19-30 it shows that one of the first things Jesus did following His resurrection was invite Thomas to touch, not merely see, the scars of His hands. His scars are liberating and, with great faith for others and myself, I choose to believe our “grumpy” scars can be liberating as well.
In having a conversation with someone a few weeks ago, we were discussing that very thing: the scars of life because of choices made. This person made a statement, “..you must understand, just because a person in prison has changed, is willing to move forward and believes, does not negate the fact that they are still in prison…where is the liberty?” Powerful, huh?! To be honest, I struggled with my response and, honestly, am still trying to fully find the answer to give this person and for me personally. Where is the liberty in the ‘prison’ of circumstance?
My response started here, with a story that I had actually shared with another friend in a different context, in the story of Moses. Moses is one of my favorites in the Bible. Can you guess why? It is because I find him grumpy and I think he is funny. I mean, no person, but a grumpy one could take tablets that were written on by God and smash them to the ground, right? And, I can only imagine God rolling His eyes and saying, “OK, umm can you just come back up this mountain and let’s try this one more time…!” Moses, and so much of the actual journey of Moses and the Israelite people through the desert, is a story based on grumpy choices and a “prison” of resorts; missing a personal “promise land’>where is the liberty? Can freedom be recaptured? If the mark is missed, where is the freedom in the “prison” that now seems just that > a prison? Do we want the scars erased or are they a mark of freedom? In the story of Moses and the journey of the Israelite people, I am finding so many answers to these questions.
This leads me back to “grumpy” and a blog series where I try to work it all out for my own sake, If you are reading, bare with me, this could take a while…..and waiting so often makes for grumpy….
To be continued….
FORGIVE.LOVE.MOVE.LIVE.
