Comfort Zones

We all have our comfort zones.  Mine may be different from yours, but they all have two things in common: (1) They keep us comfortable, and (2) They get between us and God.  Through the preaching of Pastor Daniel Hendon and Dr. David Platt, God has been nudging me to step outside of my comfort zones, but without “telling” me just how, in any specific ways.  (Can you relate?)  So, after some prayer and soul searching, I recalled some examples when I left my comfort zone to serve the Lord.

In two consecutive summers (one week in 2006 and another in 2007), I worked on church building construction projects in Alabama.  Builders for Christ is a ministry of volunteer workers that help with such labor.  Both years I was with them, the summer heat and humidity were very intense! After all, it was Alabama in July!  On the inside of those unfinished buildings, we had limited air circulation (even with fans), and on the outside, the sun was beating down on us like a hammer.  Every time I heard somebody mention the temp, I always heard “one hundred” something. 

Not only was the weather very uncomfortable, I was also housing with people I never met.  Jeff & Cora Suggs (in 2006) and Terry & Tori Burks (in 2007) were very hospitable Bible Belt southerners that loved the Lord and appreciated our help, but I was still way outside my comfort zone.  I was accustomed to isolating or being with people that were more like me, but instead I was about 900 miles south of home where the locals talked and acted differently.  I felt like I was in a foreign country. 

What else was dogging me was my severe inferiority complex.  Ever since I was a kid, I wasn’t tough enough or good enough, or I didn’t listen well enough, or I didn’t do a good enough job.  That’s what I was told many times, so naturally, I usually felt incompetent, insignificant, and impotent.  I lacked the skills that others had on the job sites, so I often felt intimidated. It took at least a whole day or two for me to acclimate even a little. By the end of the week, however, those feelings had pretty much disappeared.

Looking back, I am very glad that I went and participated in Builders for Christ. The locals had the same level of appreciation for me as they did for all the other volunteers with me. Even though my ability wasn’t as great as most others present, I was still appreciated for my availability.  My talents (though not many) were put to good use. I didn’t keep them to myself. At lunch time, the out-of-town volunteers were allowed to line up first at the buffet tables, and I was one of them.

I was willing to trek outside of my comfort zone, and I’m glad that I did. What about you? What are your comfort zones? How will you deal with them?

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