deep waters

EmPulse for Week of July 5, 2010

deep waters

“Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

[Proverbs of Solomon 20:5 NKJV]

Deep water can mean different things to different people. For some it means going through hard times, for others it is deep thought that draws them into self-reflection and serious evaluation. Sometimes it means you’re just in over your head. Whatever it is, deep water runs deep…, deep into the heart of a man, a woman, and draws upon our life experiences for counsel, wisdom, direction, and answers. Every one of us has this stream flowing deep within our being. Some try to avoid its current and cling to branches in our surface lives; but it is still there, surging below. Others seem constantly pulled under by its flow, always seeking to resolve the disparity between its course and the direction of their lives.

Deep water beckons us to ponder ultimate questions— Who am I? What am I doing with my life? How much time do I have left to make a difference? What kind of husband, wife, son, or daughter am I? Do I matter anywhere? These are the kinds of questions we all need to ask ourselves on a regular basis (yearly?) They are self-assessment questions. [For other approaches go to http://www.soon.org.uk/question.htm, or http://www.personalityquiz.net/ ] Questions that are designed to help us to come more in touch with ourselves, with how we come across to other people and with how they view us.

The better each of us understand ourselves, the more we will understand our role in society, in a family, on the job, and even at leisure. (We need to know what relaxes us just as much as we need to know what motivates us and gets us out of bed in the morning.) Some of us seek counsel to understand ourselves better. This is not an admission of mental illness, or some personality disorder, but rather an acknowledgment that having a guide to help sort through all the history just makes sense. The guide can be a wise friend, or a professional counselor. Doesn’t matter. But we all need someone to swim with us in the deep waters.

Two wrap-up questions:

1.       Do you have some unsettled questions about life, in your own deep waters, where you could use a guide, someone who might offer you some wise counsel?

2.       Is there someone for whom you need to be “a man (or a woman) of understanding?” Someone who needs a person exactly like you to walk into their life, who will take the time to win the right to be heard, who will have the patience to be invited deeper in, and then who will bring just the right Truth that is needed at just the right time?

If you answered yes to either of these two questions, make sure you are first in close touch with the God who made you…, and that you hold tight to a deep discernment concerning your own soul.  Now…, go for it!

Have a nice week.

Gary