Back to the Grill

I was reminded of my son Joshua's baby blanket recently. The last time we saw it several years ago, it was in tatters. By the time Brenda cut the worn areas away back in the day, Blankie was probably 4 square inches in size. It still did the trick for a toddler who's main intention was to feel the softness of the cotton and the synthetic silk edging against his face while he sucked his thumb. Now married and far removed from his security blanket, Josh has little or no memory of Blankie.

Some of us haven't moved on from the security we find in our comfort zones. Everyone has them. From out-dated hair styles to the fear of changing careers, we scamper to the nearest handle bar that we have created for ourselves. We hold on tight to that which we know and trust to come through with the familiar results that our comfort zones have always provided. A friend of mine often says that when his management position at a restaurant caused frustrations, he always found himself going back to the grill--back to the part of his job that he knew he was good at doing. His new job as manager took him into new areas of the hospitality business that were very challenging. "Back to the grill" has become a catch-phrase for me when I do the same thing in my own life. The "grill" can be replaced by any "security blanket" to which we cling. Fear of failure is the monster that usually forces us to retreat.

The problem with safety zones (the exceptions being wisely respecting red traffic lights and refraining from sticking one's hand into a lion's cage, as well as many more of the like...) is that we usually run backward to find them. They are mileposts in life that we trust but are, nevertheless, in the past. When we keep moving forward in life we will continually face resistance. Pushing through challenges can be painful and exhausting. But when we do come out on the other side, we are better for it.

I have made some tough life-decisions in the past year including losing weight and getting healthy; to stop biting my nails; to do a CD of new songs with my buddy Gary Sadler; delving even deeper into my desire to serve our church through the gifts God has given me. These things might seem rather simple to some. But the decisions were made knowing that resistance stood in the way of their accomplishment. I am not saying that I have conquered fear, but I am rejoicing in the new vistas that are before me these days. Brenda's happy, too.