Breakthrough

Even the work "break" gives us a clue of what this word feels like when it happens. It is a pushing, pressing, sweating, and pounding for something to give. Something to break.

Unfortunately breakthrough doesn't happen unless we press in and let the discomfort be. Too often times we hide, run, ignore, and pretend what is happening isn't.

We ghost reality and enter into a world of make-believe. The breakthrough is aborted. The seed never cracks open. We never get to find out what kind of flower, plant, or tree was waiting to flourish and grow.

The garden of our lives is reflected by our life, our eyes, and our quality of relationships and love. The most caring of people have most likely had the most breakthroughs.

When do breakthroughs occur? When there is no other way forward other than checking out of reality. Its either push and press in, or escape. Breakthrough is usually wrapped up in loss or extended place of pain and disappointment. Divorce. Death. Cancer. Infertility. Singleness.

Options: self-pity, bitterness/anger, addiction, isolation, extremism, numbness (shutting off the heart and emotions), taking your own life, or pressing forward and raw towards breakthrough.

Raw honesty and tearing emotions that rip through your heart and mind. This is the breaking. This is the seed cracking open. Its the yelling at God. The wailing at what you think never will be. Its the looking at the shattered mess that has laid there for a long time.....but you never really truly looked.

What could ever come from this pain? This pitiful mess. If you can weather the storm. If you can let yourself live....feel......be......giving yourself the support you need and the time you need.

You will see the plant of new life emerge from the seed broken open...from the breakthrough.

Breakthroughs don't just happen. They take work. Very similar to labor. There's pain, pushing, sweat, more pain, and time of rest in between. But new life comes.

Its not hard to see on a person's face if they are avoiding their breakthrough or if new life is emerging. There's a darkness about the face of one avoiding their potential new life.

What is your potential new breakthrough? What do you need to press into? What have your been avoiding?

It's time to push.

There really isn't a formula, but Jesus' talk with Nicodemus is such a lovely picture of the new life Jesus came to give us by His Spirit. That is a beautiful picture of spiritual birth. Jesus has been the one who has brought light to me in my darkest moments when I thought the breakthrough would never come.