Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone

I’m not sure about you, but I know one thing about me.  If something doesn’t go my way, I very much WANT it to be someone else’s fault - the nearest family member’s, the Republicans, the Democrats, God…  When, in all actualtiy, I know full well where to find the culprit.  She’s where I last saw her - in the mirror.

I’m convinced of the TOTAL validity of certain things in life:

1. John 3:16
2. If one pot of coffee is good, two is even better.
3. Chocolate is the fifth food group, whether it’s acknowledged or not.
4. We should help those who CAN’T help themselves, not those who WON’T help themselves.
5. My family’s the sweetest, goofiest, most lovable family in the world. 
6. There’s one particular stumbling block that we all trip over - time and time and time again.  A block that sends us spiraling down face first, hindering our quest to get where we’re going and do what we’re doing. 

The worst thing about this stumbling block is that it’s our equal - every bit as strong and resiliant as we are….and it knows all of our tricks and all of our weaknesses. Then again, how could it not.  It is us.

Think about the times in your life when you’ve come up short.  More times than not, you tripped over yourself, not someone else.  You did what we all tend to do - you got in your own way! 

Make it a point this week to look around at different people.  Observe them and make a mental note of the different times people get in their own way. 

• The co-worker who wears so much make-up that it’s all you notice.  Everyone knows she’d be so much prettier without her mask - she’s getting in her own way and tripping over her insecurity. 
• The boss who is consistently late - to meetings, to work, to luncheons, etc.  She is brilliant, bold, and sitting on top a zillion great qualities, but she has become the joke of the office because of consistent laziness. (Which is what I think lies behind consistent tardiness) All of her other traits are hidden behind this one.  She’s getting in her own way.
• The celebrity who has the respect of a nation, then gets falling down drunk and spews ignorance all over the place.  He got in his own way and now has to work overtime to get a reputation back that he threw away.

The list goes on indefinitely.  Just keep your eyes out for them.  Why?  Because when you see others doing it, you’ll be able to recognize it in yourself.  You’ll see that you, too, have a gazillion great traits that may be hidden behind a “louder” bad trait. (Doesn’t it seem like the bad traits are always the louder ones?)

Hopefully, each time you see someone “blowing it,” you’ll ask yourself if you’ve blown in that direction.  And, maybe - just maybe - we’ll become so enlightened that the next time we trip, we’ll run straight to the bathroom mirror and demand, “What did you do?!”

Nine times out of ten, that’s where we’ll find our answer.

When we have that answer - we’ve done something more amazing than we’ll probably realize at the time.  We will have taken a Stumbling Block and turned it into a Stepping Stone.  Then, look out world, we’re on our way!

Joi

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