Through Death, comes Life

When a beautiful bouquet is bought for a loved one. The snipped flowers were picked from their roots, from their life source. They are dead. It is only a matter of time and they will wither and fade away.
Yes, through their death they bring a glimmer of happiness and brightness to our lives. They bring life.
An apple picked from the tree. Offering us life and sustenance through its detachment from the branch.
The message at church today was just that, through death we experience true life. Rather, the definitions of death and life become more ALIVE. We have more thorough knowledge of the two. As I read a recent Elizabeth Elliot quote, I was reminded of the life that can be found through death. Her first husband, Jim Elliot was killed by the Auca Indians of Ecuador while serving as a missionary in that region. She quotes, "he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."

Most times when faced with making a big choice, I feel like I am on monkey bars. I feel like I am grasping something and holding onto another thing. Circumstance. Or idea. My body is lunging for the bar in front of me but rationalism makes me question leaving the bar behind me. I have to have full trust and faith in the thing I am lunging for.
God.
Do I believe He is good? Do I believe He has the best in mind for me? OR do I believe I can muster up something better? Do I think I can control my life? My flesh will fail. My intellect will disappoint me. What would death look like in these situations? Dying to the attempts to make my life appear a certain way. I think grasping for true life would look like a choice. A choice for more of God.

First you leap, then the wings appear.