You know what else I love about the rain? It slows people down. Today it has poured once again and not only does it force people to drive slower but there is less activity outside. That was the case for me today as I lounged all day in tshirts and shorts, sipping on coffee, and fading in and out of a deep afternoon slumber. One of my top 50 things I love to do…sleep while its raining outside. As my world slowed down today I was forced to spend some time thinking. Thinking about the craziness of life right now and why I’ve been so worked up and stressed. In the midst of looking for answers a small little book spoke a lifetime of wisdom to my soul. The book is called The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley and I heard about it through one of my lovely friends that I cherish in East Texas. She told me it was powerful, and only 50 pages into the red book, I knew she was right.
As I listened to the constant drum of the rain I couldn’t help but have many emotions fill my heart as I tried to process The Best Question Ever. Hurt and pain flooded fast as I recalled horrible decisions I have made. Frustration set in as I wish I had known about this many many years ago. And hope laid thick as I longed that I would learn to live by this truth from this day forward. All my life I have asked myself, “Is this right or wrong? Should I go this way or that way?” Rationalizing has become my expertise and digging myself out of hurt and pain has become a skill. This one simple question is better than all I’ve asked and if I truly allow myself to process it in every aspect of my life it could save me from all the regrets of where I’ve come from.
There is one thing we’ve all got in common. In small ways and in many gigantic ones we’ve screwed things up. I could write for 4 days, single space, in 8 point font on the many decisions I’ve made in my life that were idiotic and destroyed my heart, mind, emotions, and soul, and we’d arrive at my 17th birthday. We’d then have to spend another week as I typed into the wee hours of the night sharing gut wrenching stories of the people I’ve hurt with my words and actions during my adulthood. I share this because I pray for you the same thing I pray for myself. That I would find freedom from the many things that have destroyed me. My hope is that you’d go pick up this very short book and learn with me a way to look at our lives in a new fresh way. To ask ourselves a question that if processed right could bring us to a place of sweet renewal.
Now my only question is, will I be honest when I ask this question?
