“To” VS “Through”

Ownership is about the only power we small humans have. But when wielded well it is the power to walk as image-bearing children of the Most High God rather than defeated sinners who can’t lift our heads off the pillow in the morning.  Ownership is not waiting for something to happen “to” us but instead allowing God to do something “through” us.  So what do I mean by ownership?

Once upon a time a long lost uncle died and left his unsuspecting nephew a beautiful beach house.  Ta da!  This excited nephews now owned water-front property.  It was his beach house.  About two years later, a huge hurricane came and demolished that house, along with every other house within a five-mile radius.  This man still owned the house.  He also owned the decisions for what would happen next with that property.  Nothing was going to happen to him for this mess to change.  It wasn’t his fault that the hurricane destroyed everything.  But the house was still his responsibility.  Change would happen through his actions as he took charge of his pile of rubble.

Ownership of our painful pasts are just like the beach house.  Often, especially when we are children, we did not cause the hurricanes of our lives.  We were given the Breath of Life but then it seemed the events that followed left us destroyed.  We do not own the hurricanes, we own the pile of rubble.  We do not blame ourselves for what others have done to us.  We do not own the actions and intentions of others.  We do, however, own the pile of rubble left behind.  We own our feelings, our actions, our words, our coping strategies, and our thoughts.  If we own them we can do something about them.  If we sit and stare at the mess, waiting for the hurricane to fix it, we will always be waiting.  We will always feel entitled without any change.  Ownership is our power for life to get better.