"Stripped"

Seemingly harsh sounding word depending on how it's used.....but in short clearly means something is being taken away, quickly and with intention of never being regained. Though I prefer this definition.....dismantled. I invision a piece of furniture that's been damaged and in bad need of repair. Each piece has to be carefully removed in order to protect the integrity of the wood, the hardware, the detail that was taken when first made. It sounds more gentle and forgiving, and that while the piece is still being stripped, there is purpose, reason, and a belief and hope that once the old has been taken away......the new can be revealed.

Of course I don't have the need to talk about refinishing furniture here...but it does allow me to see clearly how our lives do go through times where we feel as if we are being stripped naked. Where everything we have, think, or do needs to be transformed into something different, even if we have no clue as to exactly what they are, we do feel something is on it's way and we need to prepare. The problem most often is that we are not paying attention to those things that need to be stripped away, and caught off guard. You know......the hit by the truck .......the rug pulled out from under us.....run over by a train....run off into the ditch feelings. We've all been there at some point and time......some worse than others, and we either have to take a nose dive into the situation in search of our strength, or we bail.

Now I'm sure you ask yourself quite often when these things happen to you or to someone around you, WHY? And the first thing you want to do when it does happen is RUN, wanting no part at all. Will it help to know this is practiced most often?  Of course more appropriately called, denial. Denial allows us to step away, buy a train ticket to another place, even though we have no destination in mind......just gone without a trace. I can testify to this practice, and for a long time it worked quite well for me, till the train stopped running........ran out of steam so to speak. This is in fact a very scary place to be......but is where the stripping comes into play. Yes indeedy, when you've used all your tickets to run, and there is no place else to hide, you feel like you're standing in the middle of the road naked....for all to see....completely vulnerable.

Now many of us still have the ability or luxury rather, to stay in that place of denial, usually because we've been hit with stuff in life, but nothing that forces us to our knees......nothing that demands one to relinquish the ticket to run. These abilities may seem like extraordinary coping skills, which granted many people have, and put to good use, but for many of us, it is exactly what it appears to be......running. The pain or loss may be too great to endure, and there is no other recourse. This is very hard to experience for self, and very sad and confusing to watch in those around us. I guess it depends on how well you know the person as to whether they are in denial or whether they are simply enduring what has stripped them to the core.

In my case, since I have been stripped to the core, with no tickets left to run, I have been forced for many years to allow God to "dismantle" me as He sees fit, and now am able to see it for what it is. Not a punishment, and for sure not something one can run from or deny, but rather see as something quite necessary in order to free myself from all things that no longer serve a purpose in my life. What are those things? Things that we hang onto that stand in the way of living a life of truth, integrity, and humility....as well as joy, peace, contentment, the ability to understand and forgive those around us, and realizing our God given gifts and talents.

So the next time I feel I'm being stripped, and have no train ticket, I'll try to sit still and allow God to show me in His time what needs to change.....and will grant those around me the grace in which to do the same.