Balloons (latex ones,) are interesting things. Deflated, they’re not much fun. They don’t even look very good: colors are darkened and not true, patterns and pictures are distorted and shrunken. Even the size and shape they are meant to be is not fully realized. But once inflated, brought to their fullness, one can see their true qualities and they bring smiles – they’re fun!
A few years ago, I embarked on a new adventure, a new phase in my life that was definitely out of my comfort zone in not just one, but THREE BIG areas. It was not something I would have ever seen myself, either in image or personality, doing. If someone had asked me two, ten, twenty, or forty years prior, to do this very thing, I would have said, “No, never.”
But God is good all the time! If we let Him, He will help us to grow. He’ll show us hidden things we didn’t know about ourselves, and then help us tackle things we would have never thought about doing – and (for the most part,) enjoy that “no, never”. When I started out on this adventure, it had been a challenge for me. I didn’t fully understand all it would entail. This is probably a good thing, since if I had, I might have still said, “No, never.”
I’ve spent a lot of time learning and preparing and even though it took that extra time, that part was pretty easy. But then about two weeks later, I realized that I needed to do learn something else that I hadn’t considered. It seemed a HUGE thing at the time because now before me was this big, scary giant to overcome. I was dreading it; feeling intimidated and insecure; thinking, “What have I done? Why did I ever think I could do this?” I found myself in tears just thinking about it. But I knew that I had to take action if I was going to go forward and not just give up and quit. I couldn’t just procrastinate out of fear.
God finally got through to me: He wouldn’t have me step out in this new direction if I could not do it. God made me to be an over-comer; not lead a defeated life. I had to call on His grace and ask Him to help me learn and understand what I needed to. So, I plunged in. And you know what? He supplied the grace! The hardest part is over! And looking back on it, the giant wasn’t as big as I had imagined!
It reminded me of balloons. You have to inflate them – “blow ‘em up” – to enjoy them. The hardest part is at the beginning. When you start, sometimes you think your head and/or lungs are going to explode before you get it past that point where it finally gives. But when you keep at it, it finally gives and from then on, it’s a lot easier. There is still work involved, but it is much easier. It is worth it to press through because inflated balloons bring a whole lot more fun and smiles than ones that are given up on or never tried. A full life is much more enjoyable than a deflated one.
