If Christ Came as a Bird Instead:

Coming from an egg isn't hard, all birds do it at one time or another. I came from an egg on purpose. It was the only way I knew to reach you.

If I had come into this world with fur and cute little ears ~ and, had I grown to be lovable and soft, with lapping tongue and wagging tail, I might indeed have been too common and you might not have listened to me.

No. I came from an egg. A simple thing. Just an egg. And with my Father's strength I left the comfort of its entrails to enter this world. I honoured no one but Him; nor did I accomplish any great deeds other than those intended to please Him. I had no need to find my own worms: He found them for me. I didn't live for these purposes - I lived for His purpose instead.

In my short life, I ate and drank from my Father's hand. I stretched my wings a time or two and I wished I could fly - instead, I walked on water. I was held by  your hands - some of you emulated my sound - some of you plucked my feathers one by one.

My purpose ~ my single reason for coming from an egg ~ was to sing for you. To sing the notes of purest love. I lived to sing for you for a small moment - a song which carried a message of my Father's love for you.

And you, dear friend, have you heard my song? Have you paid attention? Did you hear me sing for you? Have I not been a good example to follow?

I wonder at this moment: would you have heard my song more clearly if I had come to earth as one of you?

  Mat 6:26 
  "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, 
  and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" 

The Carpenter

Anon
 

          It was a plain piece of wood. Its fibers streaked down the sides of it in haphazard lines that led nowhere...streaks of simple years, left embedded within its existence.
          It told no story. It explained no lies. It simply had grown from the earth. Having spread its roots outward, it somehow remained inside of itself, pulling all things toward its heart.
          The carpenter caressed the piece of wood with gnarled hands that ached. The wood comforted the carpenters hands, allowing itself to be formed. It took shape slowly, giving in to the roughness of the sand paper and the tools that rounded its edges.
          And still the streaks showed through. Gracefully it laid upon the bench. It did not complain when the nails were driven into it. It did not make funny faces, when the glue was smeared onto it. It allowed itself to become a built thing.
          And the carpenter worked. He spent days dreaming of what this thing would become. He had grown to love this piece of wood. He grew to love its streaks. And he had chosen it to sculpt, to complete, to love.
          When the carpenter was finished, the piece of wood shone with honey gold. Its streaks formed lines that dripped off the edges and fell into the air with ease.
          In silence, the piece of wood spoke humbly: "I used to have bright green wings that reached out for you, but I couldn't fly. I was rooted to the ground, doomed forsaken and ignored - and then you found me when I called your name. You helped me to fly."
          The Carpenter stood back and observed this thing he had shaped - shaped from a piece of wood with no form and no hope. "You are beautiful," he whispered. He sighed, and reached for another simple piece of wood. It was rough, with splintered edges. It told no story. It explained no lies. It caused the carpenter to smile.

Do Something Every Day That Scares You
~ or ~
Don't Rest On Your Laurels

 by Garfield McAdam

            The first time I moved out of my  comfort zone was in 1945, I was six years old and it got me a whack on the side of my head that almost  knocked me senseless. The whack resulted in my half drunk father winding up head over heels in the wood box. 

           Here's the setting—it's supper time and everyone is around the table. My grandmother's at the end so she can get to the stove easily. Grandpa's at the other end with my uncles and me on the sides.  My father, who came late, is seated  next to me and adjacent to Gran. The old Findley cook stove and wood box is behind my uncles.

           Here's the sequence of events—Gran tells father because he's late, he'd have to wait for his fries until she can make more.  He decides he doesn't want to wait and starts picking off my plate and teasing me about it.  I asked him to stop, twice even, or else.  When he didn't, I took my fork and jabbed him in the back of his hand inflicting three scars which stayed with him until he died in 1988.  That's when he whacked me on the head.  Before anyone could say I, yes. or no, Gran grabbed him by the scuff of the neck and heaved him out of his seat and threw him across the table.  Luckily my uncle at the end of the other side was able to duck so father wound up in the wood box with some Maple slab wood and not in Spark's lap or on the kitchen table.

           So what have I just described? Three people moving in and beyond their comfort zones. Because of the way Gran raised me I was quite comfortable in asking him to stop. However stabbing him in the hand took me way beyond my zone.  Because he was drunk my father was out of his zone. Not a good excuse but there he was. You might say the booze put him in a new comfort zone, not a good one, but new nevertheless. My Grandmother was in her mother hen, look after everyone zone and did what was natural there.

          Now let's analyze that a bit.  I experienced an injustice that I felt needed correcting and my self respect was being imposed upon and needed defending. Doing this took me beyond my zone.  My father was exercising his authority over me even though he had just come back from WW2 and had never had any responsibility for me. We hardly knew who the other was.  He acted from his drunken comfort zone. My grandmother, who had raised me from when I was about 2, did what all grandmothers do, protect the young ones. She had experience with drunken behaviour from other quarters and was quite comfortable in her actions. 

           What was learned?  I learned I would never have a peaceful comfort zone around him and that proved true when he later took custody of me. I learned that a zone called peace at all costs, while it would not let me grow and take my place, would keep my heart relatively safe.  I also learned acting in an impulsive, gung-ho manner is not always the best way to go beyond my comfort zone so be judicious. He learned to stay in his comfort zone, drunk or sober when he was around Gran. 

           I have put the cart before the horse a bit here as what I just described is how not to go beyond your zone when you feel it's necessary.  Without a thought about the consequences... Now on to other things.

           My presence here today is not out of my comfort zone. It is rather, the result of a major shift I made in it a few years ago. That shift was returning to Church going on a regular basis. Before that nothing was going on in my Church life as there was none.  Since then, all sorts of good things have happened both in and outside of my Church life.  I would even say that over the years, no progress was made in my Church, personal or professional life without my doing things which were new, strange, exciting and unsettling to me.   

          The biggest and most rewarding step I ever took was taking the hand and love of my wife Maria when God offered it to me.  I was in quite a comfortable zone being alone at fifty-two.

           Sometimes I didn't act because of fear, you know, what if?.   Other times it was because I didn't have faith, in myself, or in anything else, including God. When I found the strength and fortitude to act, go beyond where I was, the results were remarkable. After returning to the Church, I started doing some scripture readings during Sunday service, then I went to cursillo, returned to lay reading duties, became an assistant rector's warden, started attending Ultreya and after a few witnessing talks I  was invited to be on this year's cursillo team and now I'm here.  What a change! From a comfortable position of no Church,  to all that. Admittedly it took me from 1993 after I reconnected with Maria, 'til March 07 to do it. What a waste of time. Sometimes you have to just act, tell yourself yes and take the plunge. But, do be careful what you wish for! Well not really, it's just that when you step into a new comfort zone, good things tend to happen!

           That's what usually happens when we make changes in those things which make us comfortable.  Oh I know not all changes result in good things, I've already given you a couple of examples of that, but hey, that's life and nobody said it was all peaches and cream.  However, despite the risks and possible dangers, you have to try if you are to progress in being all that God meant you to be and complete your part in His plan.   I will talk to you later about my part in His plan, but first I would like talk a bit about and get a working definition of comfort zone and moving on in place.

             Defining comfort zone is not necessarily easy but let's see what we can do. Wikipedia says comfort zone denotes that limited set of behaviors that  we engage in without becoming anxious. That should be good for the social science group. Longman's English dictionary says it's the range of activities that you feel happy and confident in.        

             Webster's defines it as, well, Webster's doesn't define it online so if you want to know what they say you'll have to go look it up later in their hard copy.  So a comfort zone is an area of your life in which you are comfortable, happy and have no desire to change. 

           Moving beyond what's comfortable is easier to define.  Brian Tracy, psychologist/author wrote...move out of your comfort zone, for you can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new. Well that sort of sums it up, first however, you must be willing to try something new.  That tells why you need to move at times, the what encompasses taking positive action in response to those things which disturb or make you feel uncomfortable and seeing them through.   It is also doing positive things you want to do but are afraid your peers or others will judge or laugh at you for or they'll think 'that's not cool baby'.  Gives you lots of definitional leeway, doesn't it?

           Let me tell you how much. Google gave me 5 million hits world wide for this topic and over 200,000 Canadian.  Of course lots of those hits were about health products, bars and make up called CZ.  Others were about dating, temperature, sports and many other things as opposed to the personal type we're concerned with today.  When I went to Religious, I got 400,000 and 12,000 respectively while Biblical gave me 300,000 and 13,000.  Oh, I know, you didn't think they had  comfort zones to cope with in Biblical times!