#1 Son of Man

I’m pretty excited to dive into this one. Lately my life has felt like a jungle. No, I’m not talking about the fun kind. It’s not a safari ride at the theme park with the silly hippos and exciting lions that you try to get to roar. I’m talking about the deadly kind. The kind filled with creepy bugs, evil snakes, thunderous elephants and vicious piranhas. Has your life ever felt like one of those? Like everywhere you turn, every corner you turn, the world is out to get you? Like it’s almost inevitable that you’ll be eaten alive? You might be thinking to yourself right now that it’s only a matter of time before your luck runs out and disaster finds you and ruins your life. That eventually this big, bad world will gobble you up, whether you like it or not. Maybe you’re feeling like that right now. If you are, then you’re in the right place! We are going to learn to conquer this jungle together!

And my life hasn’t just been a jungle because I have entered a new construction job with hazards around every corner. I have always felt just clumsy and foolish enough that I figure it would catch up with me eventually. I know that our lives are often fragile, and I often feel like I’m a cut below the rest. I guess I tend to feel somewhat untalented, unspecial, and a bit bland. Like anyone could do what I have done, perhaps even done it better. But maybe that’s just life sometimes.  

As I have been reflecting on how I feel about myself and my life, the story of Tarzan came to mind. The old Disney one from 1999 (from back when Disney put out quality movies, if you can remember those days.) I had a moment where I realized that my life was lining up pretty neatly with the movie, and I want to take the next two weeks to reflect on the similarities between the movie and my life to see what lessons we can learn from it. I think there are going to be some interesting and deep things to write about for this one. 

The best way to sum up this theme is like this: the story of Tarzan is one of being pushed into growth. Everyone must grow in their lives. Sometimes this growth feels like a fun new adventure. Other times, it feels like a fight for your life. Sometimes your growth will put you on cloud 9. Other times, you may feel like a last spout of panic before it all comes crashing down. But ultimately, the trip is for your own benefit. Life is here to test you, to challenge you, to develop you. And if you can just keep moving forward, you will journey from a helpless infant to the cleverest, wisest one in the pack. All it takes is a little perseverance. 

So I pray you’ll join me on this journey as we examine the road to greatness. We’ll examine the journey from helpless babe to accepted child, to wise survivor. I’ll be referencing the movie a lot, so if you haven’t seen it yet, go see it. It’s a masterpiece, so block off two hours and give it a watch. And if you have watched it, watch it again. Watch it once before we get started, then once after I’m finished to see the movie, and life, from a different perspective. 

So off we go! I’m really excited to share this with you. Not only because I feel it’s a good, meaty topic, but because I feel like it’s a theme for my life right now (at the time of writing this, of course.) But it’s something we all must examine as we grow, so that we can grow and live properly. At the end of the day, we all need to make these transitions, but we rarely do because they don’t come naturally. We have to intentionally step into the changes to really make the most of them. If this idea intrigues you, stay tuned! For the next two weeks, we will be going deep into the jungle to learn how to step into the changes.

Until next time

May Peace be your guide.