A Breath of Fresh Air

I have always been a doodler.  I am also a daydreamer, which goes hand in hand with the doodling.  I decorate those dull, lined sheets of loose leaf with the dark strokes of a black pen to pass the time of endless lectures and constant droning of teachers.

I have several repetitive doodles that I often resort to, including a rocket ship, race car, dinosaur, Abraham Lincoln, a girl holding a balloon, birds, etc. I also resort to random designs; abstract lines and shapes. There is no meaning behind them other than than attempting to adorn my lifeless lecture notes with something more whimsical and lively. There is another doodle that I resort to often, and it is a tree.  My trees are never anything unique or different, they rarely even come with branches or grass bordering the bottom of the trunk. Just a plain and simple tree. 

Recently during a class, I felt unfulfilled in the the drawings that I was doodling. I don't quite remember what I was doodling, I think it might have been the back of a girl's shirt, but nevertheless, I felt no purpose in my drawings. Then I drew a tree.

The Lord revealed to me something through my tree.  I found purpose in that tree.  I breathed a breath of fresh air.  This tree represented a new life.  It represented growth.  It represented strength and stability.  A tree is a symbol of new life with our Creator.  When doodling a dinosaur, it is silly and effortless.  When doodling a tree, I am encouraged.  I am giving myself a reminder of the new life God gives us every day.  The tree was not an ordinary doodle: it was a symbol of encouragement. 

I love the way God works.  I love that He can speak to me through a doodle. There are no bounds in the ways that the Lord moves and reveals things to us. This encouraged me to truly walk in the Lord's presence at all times, and constantly allow the small things to remind me of His truth and goodness.  He is everywhere and in everything. 

Encouragement, or the lack of.

Lately, I have been overwhelmingly disappointed in the lack of encouragement that goes on around me.  In the circle of people that I am around most of the time, the dominant form of casual communication usually comes in sarcasm.  Sarcasm is a poison that can destroy people.  It can destroy both the giver and the person receiving it.  When a person starts to hand out sarcasm on a regular basis, this becomes a norm for you.  You forget how to communicate with people normally or positively.  It becomes a switch of gears to speak positively and to speak life.  The receiver also learns (subconsciously) to take sarcasm as a norm.  You will begin to expect this behavior from others, and you settle for communicating this way, and in turn will probably start to give it out yourself. 

I have gone of several different fasts in the past couple of years, consisting of a Daniel fast, media fast, caffeine fast, meat fast, etc. Every time I have ever gone on a fast, it NEVER FAILS that I receive discouragement from friends during the fast, and even discouragement to not go on the fast at all.  I have been discouraged to not do a meat or Daniel fast because, "you can't eat normally with people."  I have been discouraged to not go on a caffeine fast because, "How will you be able to stay awake to get your schoolwork done, Allison?"  In addition to being discouraged to not go on the fast at all, friends are discouraging during the fast, stating that "that sucks", "I feel sorry for you", "I can't believe you're doing that", etc. Some people even like to taunt and tempt you with the things that you are giving up.

This behavior to me, especially from my community in the body of Christ, is absolutely ridiculous.  This week at TNL is made me really excited to hear Eric challenge everyone to be encouraging, and to take up the habit of affirming others. I have already seen many people accept this challenge, take it to heart, and begin the journey of uplifting others!  I'm very excited to see more of this, and I am praying that the spirit of discouragement and sarcasm will be rebuked and we will see no more of it.