Please read my blog “Tips for World Racers on Clearing the Jungle with a Machete” before continuing.
Now you are caught up on what has been happening here. I have been thinking about the parallels of “clearing the jungle” in the physical world and the spiritual and emotional realm.
We have been chopping away the “unhealthy or dead stuff” in the physical world. To do this, we needed to identify what to cut down. We have used the machetes to chop the brush and weeds away from the trees. We would then move the brush and weeds away to make room for new growth. We may not see (and kill) the brush and weeds hidden underneath the initial pile of “unhealthy or dead stuff” which could choke and kill the good plants and trees if we do not move the brush and weeds.
The “unhealthy or dead stuff” in the physical realm needs to be identified before we can deal with it. The plants, trees, and grasses need to be categorized before you can do anything. The same is true for the emotional and spiritual realm. The “unhealthy or dead stuff” could be many things: passivity, unhealthy relationships, lies, depressions, anything that holds you back or down, etc. I had loneliness, felt left out, and believed lies about my worth.
We have also been chopping away the “dead stuff” in the spiritual and emotional realm of our lives. After identifying the problems, we need to deal with them. This could happen in a variety of ways: spending time with Jesus, counseling, Bible studies, talking with trusted friends, family, pastor, counselor, etc.
We need to move the “dead stuff” away in the physical realm. In order to do this in the emotional and spiritual realm, we may need to separate ourselves from temptation. This may mean staying away from people, situations, places, etc. We will also need to permanently give up the “dead stuff” to Jesus by continually giving it to Him. We may need to discuss it with a counselor, psychologist, or pastor to work through it. For me, I have been giving the feelings of loneliness, feeling left out, and the lies about my worth to Jesus. It is easy for those feelings and lies to come back so I have to continually give them back to Jesus.
If we had not moved the “dead stuff” in the physical realm, the weeds hidden underneath could choke and kill the trees. The same happens in the spiritual and emotional realm. These could cause problems with relationships with yourself, Jesus, and other people. This could cause us to stay “stuck in the mud” (see my blog on being stuck in the mud at http://tracyhorne.theworldrace.org/?filename=stuck-in-the-mud). If that had not happened to me, I probably would not realize that this was causing problems in my relationships and my ability to trust (particularly new people). We need to make sure to get to the root of the problem or it will continue to come back.
We need room for new growth. If we do not move the “dead stuff” in the physical realm, the trees may not have the nutrients, sunlight, and water that they need. In the emotional and spiritual realm, we would not have room to move forward since we would be stuck in those feelings or in the past. The new growth for me has been through continually spending time with Jesus and reading the Bible. Please pray for me and my teammates as we seek new growth!!
