New Phase

Anybody out there ever played Phase 10? Well, it's a card game where you have a list of phases that you have to complete, such as 7 of one color or a run of 7. If you lay down your phase before the hand is ended, then you move on to the next phase on the next hand. What's aggravating about this particular game is when you have more than 4 players - which makes it more interesting - you sometimes can get stuck on one particular phase for multiple hands. It gets frustrating...aggravating...down right annoying. Sometimes you feel that you will never finish this particular phase...ever. Perpetually stuck in the same phase.

My life often feels like that. It feels like I'm stuck, and I can't get out. Sometimes it seems like it is beyond my control, but sometimes it's because I'm afraid to break out of my rut. Sometimes I stubbornly cling to my rut and wallow, but when God decides it's time to move forward, he will use whatever means necessary to urge us in the right direction...even dynamite the rut into oblivion around you until there is nothing left in the rut to hold on to.

Anyone who lives in the area of Calhoun County, Alabama recalls a recent incident regarding the detonation of some dynamite. It shook four counties. Recent events in my life made me feel like I was in the epicenter of that explosion, but now that the dust has settled and I can see around me, I see a whole new horizon with potential.

I think the next phase is beginning, and it's going to be drastically different in ways I don't even think I can imagine yet.