Demotion or Promotion

Demotion or Promotion

Life is a series of promotions many of which appear to be demotions.

Nothing is ever wasted.  Everything we experience in life has a greater purpose than that which may be perceived.  Many times what we perceive as failures are just smaller elements of our future successes.  God takes the bad and uses it for good.  What we perceive as stepping back my in fact be a necessity of launching forward.

I remember as a child working with my grandfather in his garden.  He had the reddest plumpest tomatoes in town.  Whatever ones were not suitable for salad would be used for sauce or what we called gravy.  Even in this case what we thought was the worst still ended up on top.  The thing that I recall most vividly is the preparation that took place prior to planting.  Of course we removed the rocks and tilled the soil, but there was one principle ingredient from which all the plants were grown.  The best of the best started with the worst of the worst.  Pa would have me fill wheel barrow after wheel barrow with manure and bring it over to the garden.  This would in turn be mixed in with the soil prior to planting.  It was this process the contributed so much to the quality of the garden through the fertility of the mix.

Remember, God is our gardener and we are his soil.  After all, it was God who made Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. So doesn’t it make sense to see the trials and tribulations of our lives as preparations for the garden which is our lifetime?  Of course it does.  He mixes the manure with the soil in order to make us fruitful.  In this our garden will produce a healthier and more delicious crop.

I’m sure if the soil could speak it would voice its displeasure with the process.  No one wants to experience the displeasure of merging with animal excrement.  Certainly there is room for improving the soil but at fist look mixing in manure seems to be making things worse.  Yet if we truly understand the benefit of this natural occurrence it becomes much more tolerable and understandable.

Our lives are a series of ups and downs with a little bad mixed in with the good.  We will often experience losses and gains in all areas of our lives.  It is what I like to refer to as a roller coaster ride.  Life is a series of ups and downs, but when we come to understand the configuration of the ride we will experience solace in it.  We become accustomed to the peaks and valleys while gaining understanding that while we are down it is only a short while before we are headed back to the top once again.  What we perceived as a loss will quickly turn into anticipation and excitement for projected increase.  Think of it this way; we most always take a few steps back before we jump up and over any obstacles in our path.

How often in life has a negative occurrence caused a positive result?  I’m sure many of us have experience the loss of one job only to find a better one.  Perhaps we had our hearts set on a particular home that we could not close on only to find a better investment only a few steps down the road.  Maybe it was a dream position with a company we have been working for that we did not get only to find out that we are being offered  a new position that suites us much better.

As we look back on all the stuff we’ve been through I’m certain that we will find it has contributed greatly to the person we are today.  It has made us stronger, more able to empathize with others and has given us the ability to turn experience and knowledge into priceless wisdom.  When we stand tall on the mountain tops while looking deep into the valleys we come to appreciate what we perceived as relegation as being part of our progression.  Sometimes in order to move forward we must take a few steps back, evaluate our position and accelerate in the direction of our dreams.

In faith always,

Ron Ash