The above is a picture of barnacles growning on the post of a dock. If you've ever been near a dock, you've seen barnacles growing on something. The interesting thing about barnacles is that they are alive and they are growing. In theory they are serving a purpose. But what are they really doing? They are deteriorating the host. Sometimes that host is a dock post, sometimes a boat that has been in the water for a long period of time.
If they are growing on a boat, you need to have it raised out of the water and the barnacles scraped off so the boat doesn't become weak and risk becoming unstable and damaged.
The Lord has recently taken me through a "stripping away" process in my own life. I've been watching as He has taken most of my extra activities away - some were important and lifegiving to me (so I thought). But what He was really doing was cleaning off the barnacles of my life because they were making me weak. Even though they were life giving activities (for a time) they needed to be cleaned away.
This was not an easy, or pleasant, activity that I've been going through. But ever since God showed me what He was doing, I've had a peace about it. As soon as I resolved to the fact that God was the one cleaning these things from my life, everything started to turn around for me. Now I see a definite "new" path that He has me on and I'm excited. But I will try to remember that in a few years, it may be time once again for a cleaning of the excess barnacles that will be developing on me.
In a way it's exciting because a ship that is sitting in dry dock instead of being used in the water won't have any barnacles, so if we have barnacles it means we are an active member of the Body of Christ!
Posts
14 comments:
cool analogy. :-)
Sonya,
Hi and thanks for stopping by my blog and your nice comments! I really enjoyed reading about barnacles and how they must be scraped off in order to keep the boat seaworthy. A very good analogy!
Blessings,
Jean
By the way, I also have a daughter living in VA who is a singer of Praise music (she is a music teacher) and lives with her husband of 18 years and their two children! Quite a coincidence wouldn't you say?
Sonya, thank you for this wonderful narrative. I have never considered the parallel between barnacles on a ship and the "garbage" we allow to get into our lives and weaken it. I've had to cut back in several areas, at least until after Christmas because I have to make all of our Christmas gifts this year and I've finished one. Blogging will be my first cut back, not cut out, just back. I'll be posting 2 or 3 times a week and hoping to read on the days I don't post and will rotate the blogs I follow to leave comments. There is just no way I can see everybody, leave notes, and write a post of my own. I'm not that proficient yet. If I didn 't leave comments that were the length of books it would helped but once I get started I'm stuck. Sorry, hope you don't mind.
God Bless,
Mimmy
Really great post Sonya. I think we all get barnacles from time to time and need to go through the scrapping process.
Thank you for visiting my blog. I'm glad it led me to your beautiful blog. I love the analogy of the barnacles. We all have them in our lives and they need to be scraped from time to time, sometimes they need to be scraped big time.
I hope you will consider linking a post on your blog to Spiritual Sundays in the future. This one would be perfect.
Have a wonderful week.
Charlotte
It's so wonderful that He knows what we need, even when we don't! What a great comparison.
Sonya, I too have had the Lord strip the barnacles from my life, and it was so freeing. At first, I felt isolated and abandoned, but soon discovered that my first love had been renewed. Every time I prune my roses, I think of my life, how I need to be pruned and shaped into His image. This is a very good analogy of God's character and discipline...loving and consistent to guide and direct our lives.
God bless,
Mary
Hey sister,
I can definitely relate to the stripping process- OUCH! But, you are so right--- the New path is wonderful and far better than anything we ever leave behind! Love, Laurie
I like the way you put it. You have to get out there and live if you want to have troubles. Sitting on the dock is safer but it is no way to live.
Sonya,
What a great illustration! I've been through the scraping away of good things so that God can make room for the better things. It hurts at the moment, but when God is the scraper, it's better! Oswald Chambers said, "Good is the enemy of best."
Thanks!
Susan
Beautiful analogy! I am in the midst of chipping away at some really harmful barnacles of my own, so this really hit a spot with me! Thank you!
Very cool Sonya. I think I've been going through a bit of scraping myself.
Now I can't help but wonder how you were led to this analogy. It's great and definitely not an everyday kinda thought. :)
Barnacles....hmmm, never thought of it like that before! And the comment Susan wrote "Good is the enemy of best." I have got some serious praying to do! Thank you Sonya for writing this! God bless you!
Post a Comment