Heigh- Ho

The famous scene of the seven dwarves going off to work in a single file has us all humming or singing “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work we go…” C’mon. You’ve done it; I’ve done it. It’s one of those famous Disney earwigs. But, besides being a song to motivate us for our work, I see something else here as well. I see a reminder of tenacity. Tenacity- often, it’s not one of those giddy character traits we tend to enjoy so much. More often, it’s tedious, frustrating, trying. We, as human animals, want what we want when we want it. We want something now, in an exact, rewarding way. But life, of course, usually doesn’t operate to our specifications. Tenacity- heigh ho. Are we there yet? Our dreams, goals and aspirations are, indeed, possible. But we each need to keep at it, whatever that “it” represents. It begins wish the simple asking. We need to make our request known. And God needs to be the first “go-to” Source in that: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7 And then, there’s the work- the seeking. Yeah, we have to do some things. Whether it’s personal or professional, we have to do our homework. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7 And then, like the instructions on a shampoo bottle, we have to “repeat.” This is the knocking… “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Matthew 7:7 And knocking… And knocking… And, well, did I mention tenacity? Sigh here. Again, I know it’s frustrating, but there are some things which don’t have a “no” attached to them. They just have a “not yet.” When I began writing my book, “Thin Enough,” its origin was in 1995. And, naively so, I believed, because I was so on fire about it, the book would somehow manifest, in perfection, in about two weeks or less. Nope. Like I said, I was naïve. What was more accurate about its completion was a few years later. Alright. Let’s get real. The book was published in- get ready for it- 2006. Those of you out there who love doing the math can count up the years. That was not a part of my plan. But my original plan for the book was that it would not be a book at all; I wanted “Thin Enough” to be this avante garde performance art piece. What it turned into, however, after years, rewrites and a complete about face, was more along the lines of a Christian self-help book. There were times in those years I was frustrated, anxious, hopeless; there were times I gave up on the project. But tenacity- or maybe it’s just my stubborn nature. Whatever it was, somehow, in some way, I kept at it. God wouldn’t let me abandon it. Could it be that, all along, He decided He wanted to do this thing through, with and often, in spite of me? Hmmm. Tenacity. It’s not jump up and down fun bouncy houses. But it’s necessary. And it has its rewards. Heigh Ho. What’s going on with you now? What are you waiting on, hoping for? Have you asked, knocked, repeated knocking and are currently waiting for it to open for you? Delay doesn’t mean denial. Just some heigh ho repetition. Never give up hope. We never know how close we are to a breakthrough. But we only move further away if we completely abandon our desired goal. Wherever you are in the process, please keep Luke 11:9-13 in mind: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” God has not forgotten you. He knows exactly where you are. So, heigh ho, heigh ho, off to God you go! You’ll get there! Copyright © 2013 by Sheryle Cruse