jumbo the elephant and me...

Jumbo was an elephant from the French Sudan who was so strong he could pick up trees from their roots, tow two tons, and stood over thirteen feet high. When I heard this on the radio this morning I didn't believe it. But my friends Wikipedia and Google told it was true. So it has to be. Duh.

In researching this elephant, I couldn't help but notice that he and I have two things in common.

1. We both hate PT Barnum and his lame circus.

2. We both were tethered to things as children which formed our outlook on life.

History says Jumbo was tethered to a 12-inch stake from the moment he could walk. The one-foot stake kept him in a certain position and disabled him to leave. Every time he tried to walk away, he couldn't. As the years passed and his size and strength increased, Jumbo believe that the 12-inch stake would not let him leave. Yes, the elephant who could lift trees from their roots was tethered to a 12-inch stake. He couldn't walk away.

I have a 12-inch stake in my life too. Since I was a child I was conditioned to believe I would have to accept a certain condition in my life. For years I would try to get away, but I felt trapped. I couldn't walk away.

As I heard Jumbo's story, my heart broke because I was believing the same illusion he was.

We have to stop believing the illusion that are problems or circumstances or childhood experiences have the power to keep us trapped. Through a divine power not of ourselves,we can pull up the stake which holds us down and move forward. We must walk away.

If you don't you have the power to believe you can walk away, think about this:

If you believe in Jesus Christ and his claims, you are essentially believing a man came to earth, lived a sinless life, went to the cross for sins he never committed, endured a horrific death, and rose from the pit of his grave three days later as a witness to us even today. If you believe in Jesus, you must believe he can pull you away from the things which hold you down.

But you must walk away. So the question remains, what is holding you down?

come-to-jesus moment...

Ok, so I'm not sure I'm using the expression correctly, but a friend of mine says, I had a come-to-Jesus moment with my kids. I guess it's kinda when you're all stressed out and about to beat your child to a pulp and the only thing that prevents that is having a sublime moment of intervention. I think it's hilarious and now I'm always saying it all the time in reference to a wit's-end moment.

Last week I had a come-to-Jesus moment when I was at my wit's end (if it indeed has an end). It's like I proverbially vomited my problems out to the Lord at His feet and in some weird paranormal experience, it was appreciated. As much as I try not to, I walk around like the mythological Atlas with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Decisions to be made, deadlines to be kept, budgets to keep; it's a daunting task and one that was never asked to complete. Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus tells us to take His yoke for it is easy and His burden is light. When I lay down my burdens through talking to the Lord, I get to trade it in for something easy and light. Amazing trade off!

Blind Bartinaeus was a non-entity of society who loudly vocalized his belief in Jesus. He yelled out to the Lord to heal him, which was an odd request because obviously Jesus knew he was blind. But things got a little bit more ridiculous when Jesus asked Bartimaeus what he wanted. Really?! He was blind--was he going to ask for world peace? No. Yet Jesus patiently asked him so he could vocalize his need. In the middle of my come-to-Jesus moment, I realized that God knew my needs, but I need to vocalize them. It's so easy for me to call out like Bartimaeus my belief, but what about my needs? I equally need to yell above the masses, to push past the disciples, and ask the Lord to heal me from my spiritual blindness.

In your next come-to-Jesus moment, take the weight of the world off your back, realize that He cares, and allow him to hear your requests.