Thorns in My Side

No matter the thorn, isn't it funny how the one that's in your side, starts digging even harder the moment you decide to rise above it and move forward, maybe even attempt to remove it? It’s not a coincidence.

So ... what'cha gonna do? Wallow in it or ... brush your shoulders off?

I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a few thorns in my life.

They prick.

I bleed.

Sometimes I wonder how it is that I have not "bled" to death by now. But, God has been good to me.

The more I try to get away from my thorns, the more they prick and the more I bleed. Still, it has always been worth it to fight.
If I didn't have the constant reminder of my fallible human frame, I would be complacent and content to just exist. I would not possess the drive to seek That which is grander than my being. I would bathe in mediocrity and wade in the pool of a life lived half-heartedly.

Who, in their right mind, wants to live like that?

These thorns, these wretched reminders of my filthy rags, push me to purpose, in a sense. The more I resist the urge to let them win, the better and stronger I become.

And, as long as I fight ... they don't win.


© 2009