Bubbling to the surface

I got home this morning after a few days away. As I looked at the progress of the block layers working on our shed outside, I wondered why there was no door. I asked the question. They were grateful that I had noticed because the mortar was still wet and they were able to correct the error before it was set in concrete. Literally.

A fresh pair of eyes made all the difference.

That got me thinking.

At our place right now, there is a massive hole in the ground that makes space for the structure to grow. We are in a messy half done stage. When it’s finished it will be a wonderful addition to our property, but it is still a work in progress.

If you are in the process of changing, you might notice a few things that were hidden before. I want to reassure you that that is a natural and normal part of the process. It might be uncomfortable, but work with it.

There are advantages when hidden things come to the surface: you gain a different perspective; you can remove the debris and create space to rebuild according to the blueprint.

I used to have an issue with anger. When I dealt with it, I remember a specific day when I felt a surge of anger coming over me and I just paused and observed for a moment. I had never done that before. Usually when I got angry I reacted instantly. I was amazed to observe that the anger behaved like a wave. I could feel the surge rising, peak and then seep away at about the same speed that it had arrived.

What I experienced that day for the first time was the opportunity to decide how I was going to respond as the anger washed over me. I realised that I needed to learn some new skills in how to respond when anger presented itself.

That was a new perspective. Suddenly I had a choice. I hadn’t realised that I had a choice before.

As you learn and grow, celebrate the small wins. Maybe you noticed ‘X-Y-Z’. Well done, now that you see it you can respond differently.

One particular day I went to a meeting. I really felt that I shouldn’t go, but, I had arranged a babysitter so that I could attend. The meeting was awful and I knew that I shouldn’t have been there.  The temptation to berate myself for not following my intuition was strong, but, I decided to learn from it instead. I had ignored my intuition and had suffered the consequence. I made the decision that if I had that sense again, I would not ignore it.

Sometimes insight will come from someone else. Take a moment to see if you can gain a new perspective from someone else’s observation.

You can remove the debris. This morning, the block layers removed some blocks to create a doorway. There was literally a blockage there. If it wasn’t removed, there would be no way into the shed.

If you’re stewing fruit or making soup, scum forms on the surface of the boiling liquid. That scum is an impurity rising to the surface to be skimmed off. When you remove the impurity, the soup will be clearer and better for you.

As you go through your process, skim off any unhelpful habits or emotions that surface. If you ignore them they will remain as residual scum. If you stir them back in, you’ve lost an opportunity to remove them.

Allow yourself to deal with the hard stuff that rises to the surface. It’s not pleasant, but it’s worth it.

Notice what’s surfacing. Is it something that you can work on yourself or do you need to get help? If you need help to skim it off or learn new skills, find someone to help you.

Maybe it’s a blockage that you’ve noticed. That blockage can be removed.

Today was amazing because the mortar was still wet and the guys had the opportunity to make adjustments without too much debris. If we had caught it later, they would have had to cut through the concrete to fix it with a much greater effort and a much bigger mess.

If you’ve exposed a habit or attitude that is already established in your life it might require more perseverance to remove it. Things might look messy during the process, but it really will make a big difference when it’s done.

This morning as we were looking at the plans for the shed with a fresh perspective, suddenly there were things on the plan that needed clarification. The block layers paused and waited on instruction before building further.

Go back to the one who created the blueprint and clarify those things that you’ve become aware of. This may be a significant moment of prayer.

Things aren’t always obvious. Talk with someone who has the insight and experience to give wise counsel. Perhaps they have an idea that you haven’t thought of or an observation that changes how you might do things. As always, if you need professional help, please find someone that you can work with. Both demolition and building can require professional skill.

When hidden issues come to the surface; you can see them for what they are, remove the debris and create space to rebuild according to the blueprint.

Being in process often means that things are out of place or messy. We can try and hide the reality of the mess or use it to maximum effect. In the case of the shed, I have been looking at the set up for the block layers for a couple of weeks and I couldn’t quite make sense of it. I decided that the structure would make sense over time. But today, it suddenly became obvious that something was overlooked. Something rose to the surface.

If you see something out of place, don’t be afraid to identify it. I asked a question this morning. There was no drama, no blame, no judgement, just a question that led to necessary changes. If I hadn’t said anything, we would have had a major blockage that would have had to be dealt with at some stage. But by identifying it and dealing with it straight away, it was easier to fix.

If you’re noticing things coming to the surface, you’re already making progress. Persevere through the messy stage, change is already underway.