Does being mindful that your in the middle of a biographical sub-point affect you?

Everybody’s life has stuff.

Turbulent stuff.

Traumatic stuff.

Jubilant stuff.

Mundane stuff.

I have.

You have.

We all have.

I had a fantastic childhood.

But there was stuff.

Unprocessed stuff.

Unspoken stuff.

I enjoyed high school.

But there was stuff.

Stuff I’m still living in the consequences of.

I drifted for years after high school.

But, again, there was stuff.

Immature stuff.

Foolish stuff.

Enjoyable stuff.

I fell into ministry.

But there was stuff.

Insecurity.

Mistakes.

Inexperience.

I got married.

But there was stuff…

And I was out of ministry for 18 months.

Which uncovered stuff…

Which, birthed a blog to process/unload some of that stuff…

And my dad died.

Which gives you stuff…

And we had multiple miscarriages.

Which piles up a lot of stuff…

And then returned to ministry across multiple churches.

Which exposed more stuff…

And then started our family.

Which added incredible stuff into my life…

Then I started my last ministry position.

Which dished up A LOT of stuff…

Then I was out of that position.

Which delivered more stuff…

Then my marriage dissolved.

Which threw all the stuff of my life into disorder…

Then I started dating again.

Which re-emerged stuff…

Then I transitioned into a new teaching career.

Which presented new stuff…

Then I got married again.

Which provided some new and some familiar stuff…

Then I started actively teaching.

Which comes with its own stuff…

And on… 

And on…

Life will happen.

Stuff will keep coming.

In fact, you can trace my wrestling with some of the above stuff over the last 18 years.

Possibly, you’ll be able to read my Ramblings about the upcoming stuff well into the future.

But, as I outline the life-and-times of my life…

Triumphs are single sentences.

Tragedies are single sentences.

Life transitions are now new sentence starters.

But, at the time, they were/will be wild rides.

Full of highs and lows.

Sleepless nights.

Tears.

Laughter.

Milestones.

Now, they are footnotes.

The vast majority of the events we go through will end up this way.

A footnote.

A transition.

Maybe a sentence of the larger story.

But, at the time, you’re riding the wave.

In the middle of the highs and lows.

Going through the sleepless nights.

Bearing the tears and laughter.

Navigating the milestones in real time.

I wonder how a little perspective would change the way we navigate the tribulations of our lives?

Would we have a healthier perspective?

Would we have more patience?

Would we be willing to remain in our current position a little longer or would we be willing to take more risks?

No matter what you’re in the middle of right now, chances are, in the end it will just become a sub point in your life-story in a decade from now.