Sit Down, Shut Up, and Let Go

by Naeger, Jennifer N

• ISBN13: 9781449749408
• ISBN10: 1449749402
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-23
• Publisher: Westbow Press

Excerpts

GETTING IN THE CAB, AND LETTING THAT CRAZY GUY DRIVE! Now, look. I realize that from the time you were 3 years old, your mother has warned you to NEVER get in the car with a stranger!! But work with me here! I have a simple philosophy to the way I handle my life now. Let's imagine you were alone for a business meeting in a large city. Left without a vehicle, and needing to make it to your meeting, you would have two choices. A. You could walk to the meeting alone, guessing at the correct path. It would be dangerous, and would take quite some time to get there. Unfamiliar with the area, you could easily take a wrong turn and get off track. Every city has streets that are on 'the wrong side of the tracks', places where even a good person can get in trouble. Without knowing where they are, how on earth will you know how to avoid them? There would be intersections to cross, seemingly helpless against all of the large cars that zoom past. There would be puddles to leap over, hills to climb....and here you are: ALONE. Or.......There's plan B. You could choose to take a cab. This would be a much quicker trip, and would allow the opportunity of traveling with someone familiar with the area. Sure, some cab drivers can be scary. Heck, I've been in a cab before where the guy driving wasn't even the same guy whose photo was taped to the dash! You just might find yourself at the mercy of some crazy guy, putting your trust in someone you have never met before. But I have learned that letting the crazy guy drive is always a better approach than going out into the world alone, and hoping for the best! He knows which roads are closed for construction, which detours should be taken, and the fastest route to your destination. It's his job! This is my approach to letting go; which in essence, allows me to gain MORE control! I have learned that I can do things my way (damned Free Will!) I can fight over that steering wheel, and take the path I want to take. I picture a scene in a movie: Riding in a car, tires squalling, passing cars honking. Weaving all over the road in and out of traffic as I reach over, yanking the wheel with passion. Determined to gain control because I think I can do it better; I put myself in great danger. Or, I can allow God (the crazy guy) to drive, and shut up and put on my seatbelt. He doesn't usually take the same route I would've, and sometimes that annoys the heck out of me. Most of the time He refuses to hit the Starbucks drive-thru on the way, and that REALLY bugs me. Sometimes He wants to take the scenic route and show me the sites, really hoping it will help me grow along the way. Other times He drives so fast, and takes such a direct route that I am really not ready to get out of the car when we get there...because I'm scared. Regardless of which route He takes, one thing is always the same. When He gets me there, He always rushes to my side of the car. He kindly opens my door, and lovingly extends His hand. And as soon as I get the courage to put my hand into His, I know that I can do it. Whatever it is, no matter how insurmountable it seems, I know that it can be done. It doesn't mean I'm not scared of the journey, it simply means that I am as ready as I will ever be because He is the one in control...and I'm just along for the ride. My wish for you, my intention with writing this book, is that you too will be able to find YOUR savior. I cannot predict what form He will take when He nudges you because God likes to spice things up! I don't know how long your journey to our common destination will be. If I find out He took you through the Starbucks drive-thru, I admit, I will be mad! But what I do know is that He will, undoubtedly, when you have reached your destination, open your door and extend His hand for yours. I hope that after traveling this road with me you can open your eyes to His gentle nudges, and place your hand in His so that He can help you. Open your heart, your ears, and your mind as you read and try to find YOUR savior as you read about mine. If for no other reason, do it so that he doesn't have to resort to whacking you in the back of the skull with a shovel to get your attention! So, often I wonder how other people get through life. Muddling through, unhappy, stressed and out of touch with the TRUE meaning of life. Consumed by wants and needs, overwhelmed with desires, unreachable goals and the pursuit of all things material. Yet, sometimes, I find myself doing the same. What grounds me, though, is the tie that binds me to the true meaning of life. Like those little coily rubber ties that people put their key rings on and then hook them to their beltloop or around their wrist; I have a similar invisible tie. It connects me to my truth, much like an umbilical cord attaches a child to its mother. Though I can't see it, I can feel it. It is attached to my soul, and occasionally, I become too 'human' for my own good, and stretch it beyond its capacity. It is then that it fully extends and snaps me like a slingshot back to center. Like the sound of a whip cracking in the wind, sometimes it surprises me. We all recall the first time we got separated from our parents at the store. One minute, you felt safe and carefree. In an instant, you turn to find that everyone familiar is gone. The panic sets in so quickly, and immediately your mind begins to wander to the what-ifs. What if they have forgotten me and left? What if I never find my way back to them, and I am alone forever? What if? What if? Much like that child, we all wander too far away sometimes. We allow the worries of the world to carry us far, far away. Before we know it, we turn around and can find nothing that gives us comfort and security; everything looks different and we worry that we will never find our way back. That child inside of us could not rationalize that our parents would not leave us. It always turned out that they were one aisle over, testing us to teach us a lesson about staying close and being observant and careful. In the same way, God stands and waits for us now, as adults. He gives us Free Will to wander away, to stray from His side. But He never goes more tghan one aisle over. He continues to peek through the stacks of canned peas and toilet paper, watching us as we turn to discover that we have wandered too far. He watches, and He waits. He, just like our parents, hopes that we will feel that panic, and learn a life-lesson from it. That we will never forget the way the lump feels in our throat as we realize that we are seemingly all alone and frightened. As the sounds of the price check on aisle 4 on the overhead speaker begin to muffle, our hearts beat fast and our vision becomes blurred through tears and we become desperate to find our safe place again...He is there...